Indiana

Indiana’s juvenile detention centers disproportionately detain Black boys

Published

7 months ago

June 6, 2024

Indiana’s juvenile detention centers disproportionately detain Black boys

While the number of children charged with crimes in Indiana has decreased since 2010, the number of Black youth being detained without conviction still remains high.

Cameron Washington, 16, was one of those kids just three years ago.

He was sent to the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center, which sits right in the middle of the historically Black east side Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, for a firearm charge.

“I have done things in my life I’m not proud of. I know what it is like on both sides of the fence. I know what it’s like to be behind a gun and I know the other side,” Washington said.

Washington was one of more than 400 kids in Indianapolis alone whose case was filed by the Marion County Prosecutors Office between January 2020 and March of 2022. There have been challenges tackling disparities in the juvenile justice system for decades and city officials, state lawmakers and local organizations’ next tasks have been trying to eliminate these inequities.

Previous Coverage: Juvenile injustice: Low-income families pay brunt of fees and fines that vary by county

New B.O.Y, new approach

Washington was instructed by the judge in his case to attend New B.O.Y. (Breed of Youth), a mentoring and development program after completing his probation for the firearm charge. The community-based program focuses on school-level intervention for at-risk youth, and works with those who have been in the system.

As is the case with Washington, the organization gets referrals from Marion County Juvenile Division.

“Once I make that phone call and do an intake for a young man, I’ll often hear parents say, ‘I wish we had known about you sooner,’” said Kareem Hines, New B.O.Y’s founder.

Hines said they will often get young men who are immersed in street culture and who have been affected by trauma and struggle to build new relationships.

“It’s hard for them to see outside their neighborhood, to even see past tomorrow,” Hines said.

Indiana juvenile detention rates for Black youth

There are more than 515,000 white youth and more than 93,000 Black youth younger than 18 in the state. While the rate of arrests is relatively the same across racial lines, Black youth charged with a crime have a 30% chance of being detained compared to 15% of white youth, according to the 2022 Indiana Juvenile Justice Racial and Ethnic Disparities Plan.

What is unknown in the data set examined by the plan is what specific crimes were committed, which would impact detention rates.

What the data does show is white youth are diverted out of the juvenile justice system more often than African American youth, making them less likely to have a juvenile record or become repeat offenders.

A short stay in detention has been associated with serious harm to a youth’s mental and physical well-being, stifled education, reduced employment prospects and further justice system involvement, according to a recent report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private philanthropy that focuses on developing solutions for problems like youth detention.

One of the foundation’s calls to action would be to invest in partnerships with community-based organizations like New B.O.Y.

“Having mentors like Kareem, who has been like a father figure in my life, built me up and changed my mindset. They’re elevating me to things that I never thought I could do before,” Washington said. “Now, I’m able to talk to my community and hold stakeholders accountable for the decisions they make that affect kids and that’s powerful.”

Lawmakers have also made efforts to address the high rate of youth incarceration in Indiana.

Lawmakers pass juvenile justice legislation

In 2022, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed House Bill 1359 into law, a package of juvenile justice policy reforms aimed at improving youth outcomes and using state resources more efficiently. The legislation mandates using risk assessment tools to divert youth away from the system to achieve more consistent and equitable decisions.

It also recommends not detaining children under 12 years old when possible and requires the development of a statewide plan to collect and track key juvenile justice data, according to the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments.

Almost half of U.S. states, including Indiana, do not have a minimum age for juvenile adjudication, which means they can detain children of any age. The National Juvenile Justice Network recommends all states set the minimum age of prosecution at no lower than 14 in accordance with the standards set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

For the 2022-23 school year, the youngest student arrested on school grounds in Indiana was 8 years old.

A total of 155 children, aged 12 and under, were arrested at schools that year.

On the prosecution side of juvenile justice, at least in Marion County, their focus is keeping kids accused of lower-level offenses from going the traditional criminal route.

There were signs of sexual abuse at youth center. State kept sending boys and money anyway.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job of trying to keep the lower-level stuff out of the juvenile justice system,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, who stepped into the role in 2019, said.

“We’ve really tried to increase our robust relationships with the schools to make sure that we can identify kids who are maybe going on the wrong path or don’t have the support they need.”

According to the Marion County Probation Department, 726 youths were sent to juvenile detention last year. In 2022, that number was just below 600.

Mears said the reason for the uptick can be traced to an increase in youth being arrested for more serious crimes.

“We are seeing an increase in gun crimes and gun violence,” Mears said. “The No. 1 charge that we have right now in our juvenile court is dangerous possession of a firearm, which is anyone under 18 having a gun. That’s by a pretty significant margin.”

Black youth were eight times more likely to be shot in Indianapolis compared to youth of any other race or ethnicity, according to data compiled by the Indianapolis Gun Violence Project for the first half of 2023.

The prosecutor said the vast majority of juvenile cases that have come across his desk in the last year and a half have been African American boys.

That’s by design says Anthony Beverly, who has been the executive director for Stop the Violence Indianapolis, Inc. for nearly two decades.

Law prompted by IndyStar/ProPublica reporting increases scrutiny of abuse at youth centers

“These systems are messing up our guys, racist policies that are designed to keep their foot on the necks of Black people and people in poverty,” Beverly said. “We look at the gun violence and yet we change a law that says you can have a gun at 18. You can’t buy cigarettes, you can’t go to the club to drink alcohol but you can have a gun. Make it make sense.”

Beverly runs multiple community programs for teen boys, including one that advocates for kids in the courtroom – even if they don’t want the help at the time.

“Street culture has taken over everything in these kids’ lives and it’s been exacerbated through music and social media,” Beverly said. “Social media is a big issue. One of the things that’s most notable is this idea that if you claim to be a tough guy you have to prove it.”

He often tells the boys in his programs that the world is bigger than their neighborhood, but he knows that notion is harder for them to understand when the neighborhood has been their whole world.

Washington, the teen in New B.O.Y, and a few other boys in the program spoke about their experience at an April 30 meeting hosted by the Marion County Public Health Department. The public meeting, organized to address youth gun violence, was held at Martin University, the state’s only predominately Black institution, located in Martindale-Brightwood.

Hines with New B.O.Y wants community leaders to change their approach when it comes to creating real connections with youth because even with so many organizations, he feels there’s a disconnect.

“There has to be an intentional ecosystem that includes the kids, but we have to go where the kids are,” Hines said at the meeting. “We have to stop inviting them to these high-level meetings using some language that goes over their heads just to be transactional.”

Teens from New B.O.Y. start CC Cares nonprofit and host food giveaway

New B.O.Y. mentoring program helps young men “turn pain into purpose,” like two teens who started a nonprofit after respective struggles with DCS and the juvenile justice system.

A part of that ecosystem includes lawmakers, and even with data still being collected, Hines wants to make sure that Indiana’s juvenile justice plan keeps in mind the racial and ethnic disparities of Black youth in the system when coming up with recommendations for solutions.

At the core, Washington feels like a lot of adults don’t understand the reality of young people’s lives and that’s why he wanted to create a non-profit as his way of helping his peers.

“Because no one gave to us in the system, but we’re feeding into our community,” Washington said. “Like a seed, we water the seed, we feed the seed and it grows.”

New B.O.Y is helping them get there.

Jade Jackson’s reporting on was undertaken as a USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism grantee of its 2023 Impact Fund for Reporting on Health Equity and Health Systems. Contact Jade Jackson at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com. Follow her on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.

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Notre Dame vs. Indiana: Predictions, odds for College Football Playoff

Published

2 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

Notre Dame vs. Indiana: Predictions, odds for College Football Playoff

The first-ever first-round matchup of the 12-team College Football Playoff will be an in-state rivalry game that’s rarely played.

No. 7 seed Notre Dame is set to host No. 10 seed Indiana on Friday, Dec. 19, with the winner advancing to the CFP quarterfinals to face No. 2 seed Georgia at the Sugar Bowl. It will be the first meeting in football between the Hoosiers and Fighting Irish since 1991 and just their second game against one another in the past 65 years, despite their campuses being just about 200 miles apart.

Led by coach Marcus Freeman’s ferocious defense, a potent rushing attack and the steady play of quarterback Riley Leonard, Notre Dame is the favorite after an 11-1 regular season in which it won by double digits in all but one game. The Fighting Irish reeled off 10 wins in a row following their shocking upset loss to Northern Illinois in September.

Indiana is in the midst of the best season in program history, with only a loss to fellow CFP qualifier Ohio State on its resume this year. First-year coach Curt Cignetti has the nation’s second-highest scoring offense and the Hoosiers also rank second in the country in total defense entering Friday’s first-round game. Though Indiana’s strength of schedule was questioned during the CFP selection process, its average margin of victory this season is more than 33 points per game.

But the playoffs will be a new challenge for both teams, with a national championship just four wins away. Here’s a look at some predictions for Notre Dame vs. Indiana, as well as odds, betting lines and how to watch this highly anticipated primetime matchup to start the 12-team CFP era.

CFP first-round predictions: Notre Dame vs. Indiana

USA Today: No. 7 Notre Dame over No. 10 Indiana

Paul Myerberg writes: “A relatively weak strength of schedule has Notre Dame flying under the radar as a legitimate contender. The Fighting Irish have one of the best-balanced team from offense to defense and special teams. Likewise with Indiana, even if the Hoosiers’ chances of winning one or more playoff games is viewed with a high degree of skepticism. Look for Notre Dame to slow down Kurtis Rourke and the Hoosiers while punishing the Indiana defense with the nation’s third-ranked running game in yards per carry.”

ESPN: Notre Dame has 73.7% chance to win

According to ESPN’s Matchup Predictor, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a 70.4% chance to beat the Indiana Hoosiers in the first round of the College Football Playoff as of Friday, December 13.

The Sporting News: Notre Dame 28, Indiana 24

Bill Bender writes: “Indiana allowed 2.5 yards per carry this season, and that run defense will be tested by the Irish trio of Riley Leonard (721 yards, 5.8 ypc.), Jeremiyah Love (949 yards, 7.1 ypc.) and Jadarian Price (651, 7.3 ypc.). Kurtis Rourke will test an opportunistic Notre Dame secondary, and the Hoosiers will need the running game to be in order, too. It’s been a dream season for Indiana coach Curt Cignetti. Will it continue against the Irish? Notre Dame covered in each of its last seven games, but this one stays tighter.”

Fox Sports: Indiana wins

RJ Young writes: “The Fighting Irish will face the most complete team they’ve seen all year in Indiana. The Hoosiers have beaten 10 out of 12 opponents by double-digits and believe they are the best team in the state of Indiana. However, Al Golden’s defense has been outstanding, allowing only one team to score 35 points in a game this season.”

CFP first-round odds, lines: Notre Dame vs. Indiana

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are favorites to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers, according to the BetMGM college football odds.

Odds as of Wednesday, Dec. 18.

Spread: Notre Dame (-7.5)
Moneylines: Notre Dame (-300); Indiana (+230)
Over/under: 51.5

How to watch Notre Dame vs. Indiana in CFP first round

Date: Friday, Dec. 20
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ABC/ESPN
Stream: Fubo (free trial for new subscribers)
Where: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Indiana)

Watch select CFP games with Fubo

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

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US state of Indiana executes Joseph Corcoran after 27 year legal battle

Published

10 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

US state of Indiana executes Joseph Corcoran after 27 year legal battle

The state of Indiana in the United States has carried out its first execution in 15 years, putting to death a man, whose lawyers say he was mentally ill, murdering four people in 1997, including his own brother.

Joseph Corcoran, 49, was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead early Wednesday morning at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, officials said.

His last words were “Not really. Let’s get this over with,” a statement by the Indiana Department of Correction said.

Corcoran’s lawyers argued in court filings that carrying out the death penalty would violate the Constitution because he had long suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, including experiencing hallucinations and delusions, making him unable to understand the severity of his crimes.

Corcoran’s “longstanding and documented mental illness continues to torment him as it did at the time of the 1997 offence,” his legal team said.

His lawyer, Larry Komp, said the question of Corcoran’s mental health was never properly evaluated.

“There has never been a hearing to determine whether he is competent to be executed,” he said in a statement to The Associated Press. “It is an absolute failure for the rule of law to have an execution when the law and proper processes were not followed.”

More than two dozen people were gathered outside the prison before his execution to protest and pray, according to the Indy Star newspaper.

The state provided limited details about the execution process, and no media witnesses were permitted under state law. However, Corcoran chose a reporter for the Indiana Capital Chronicle as one of his witnesses, the outlet’s editor posted on X early Wednesday.

Indiana and Wyoming are the only two states that do not allow members of the media to witness state executions, according to a recent report by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Corcoran was going through a stressful period in July 1997 because the upcoming marriage of his sister meant he would have to move out of the home he was sharing with her and his brother in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

After he overheard his brother, James Corcoran, 30, talking about him, he loaded his rifle and shot his brother and three other men, including his sister’s fiance, according to court filings.

Corcoran had previously been acquitted of the murders of his parents, who were found shot dead in their home in 1992.

This undated photo shows Joseph Corcoran, who was executed on December 18 [Indiana Department of Corrections via AP]

“Serves no purpose”

Corcoran’s sister, Kelly Ernst, sought to stop the execution, saying she had forgiven him.

“I believe that the death penalty does not address grief or provide true justice especially for victims, and those with mental illness,” she wrote on December 2 on Facebook.

“Instead, it is a lengthy, costly and political process,” she added. “I believe his execution serves no purpose.”

Corcoran’s execution is the 24th in the United States this year. Indiana paused executions in 2009 because it was unable to obtain the necessary drugs, with pharmaceutical companies reluctant to be associated with capital punishment.

But Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb and Attorney General Todd Rokita, both Republicans, announced earlier this year that the state had acquired the drug – pentobarbital – and that executions would resume, beginning with Corcoran’s.

Corcoran sent a letter last month to the Indiana Supreme Court, saying he no longer wanted to litigate his case.

His lawyers nonetheless filed an emergency appeal to the US Supreme Court on Tuesday to stay the execution, which was ultimately rejected.

“Joseph Corcoran’s case has been reviewed repeatedly over the last 25 years – including 7 times by the Indiana Supreme Court and 3 times by the US Supreme Court, the most recent of which was tonight,” Holcomb said in a news release after the execution was completed.

Rokita also issued a statement, saying Corcoran “finally paid his debt to society as justice was provided to his victims”.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while six others – Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee – have moratoriums in place.

INTERACTIVE - Which states have the death penalty 2024-1727245173 — [Al Jazeera]

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What does a La Niña winter mean for Indiana? See NOAA’s 3-month forecast as season starts

Published

17 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

What does a La Niña winter mean for Indiana? See NOAA’s 3-month forecast as season starts

An umbrella and a moderately warm jacket are what Hoosiers might want to keep on hand over the next three months. Meteorologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting Indiana’s winter to be wetter than average.

The most recent seasonal outlook map by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center shows several Midwest states now have equal chances for both above and below average temperatures January throughout March of 2025. The agency updated its predictions last week, saying La Niña conditions have a 59% chance of emerging this winter.

Here’s what that means for Hoosiers living in Indiana.

What is La Niña?

La Niña is a natural climate pattern in which the ocean’s seawater cools in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, according to the National Weather Service. It occurs normally every 3-5 years and can have a significant impact on the weather, such as worsening the Atlantic hurricane season.

How does La Niña impact winter?

Changes in the ocean’s temperature can affect tropical rainfall patterns, which in turn can impact weather all over the world. These effects, writes NWS, are more acute during the winter months when the jet stream is strongest over the United States, which causes colder and stormier than average conditions across the North and warmer, less stormier conditions in the south.

What does La Niña mean for the Midwest?

Historically for the Midwest, La Niña conditions usually create fall weather that’s warmer and drier than normal while winters tend to be wetter than average, according to NWS. This year Indianapolis experienced its third warmest fall on record, according to records kept by NWS, with the highest recorded temperature in 2024 set on Sept. 21 at 94 degrees. Winter for Central Indiana, as a result, could follow historical trends of getting more precipitation than average January through March 2025.

When is the first day of winter?

The first day of winter is Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, also known as the winter solstice for the northern hemisphere.

What’s the NOAA forecast for Indiana this winter?

Indiana is forecast to have a wet winter this year, according to NOAA. Areas in Central Indiana stretching as far north as Fort Wayne have a 50–60% higher chance of above-normal precipitation. The odds of Evansville and places along Indiana’s southern edge near Louisville are leaning toward a 40–50% greater chance of more precipitation than average this winter.

Records kept by NWS show the average total rainfall from January through March in Indianapolis equaled 9.24 inches.

How cold will Indiana get this winter? Here’s what NOAA says…

Indiana has an equal chance of seeing above or below normal temperatures during the first three months of 2025, according to a seasonal outlook map updated by NOAA on Nov. 21. An earlier prediction showed Indiana leaning toward above-normal temperatures.

The average daily high in Indianapolis, according to NWS, is 36 in January; 41 in February; and 52 in March. Lows during those three months average in the low 20s to low 30s

Warmer than normal temperatures are possible over large swaths of the U.S., according to NWS, in part because of the lowered seawater temperatures of La Niña. The map is valid from January to March 2025.

What do the Farmers’ almanacs predict for winter in the Midwest?

A winter prediction by the Old Farmer’s Almanac forecasts the Hoosier state would have snowy, cold conditions in the southern half of the state with cold, drier weather in northern Indiana.

Meanwhile, the Farmer’s Almanac predicts the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Midwest region (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin) can expect a “big freeze” in January with “very, very cold conditions.”

Hoosiers might want to keep in mind the almanacs’ long-range predictions are sometimes little better than a coin flip. One study cited by Popular Mechanics reported the Farmer’s Almanac was right about 52% of the time.

Story continues after photo gallery.

When will winter end?

Winter lasts from Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in the northern hemisphere until Thursday, March 20, 2025, when the vernal equinox will mark the beginning of spring.

What are the dates for the four seasons in 2025?

Spring: March 20, 2025 (vernal equinox)
Summer: June 20, 2025 (summer solstice).
Fall: Sept. 22, 2025 (autumnal equinox).
Winter: Dec. 21, 2025 (winter solstice).

John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.

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