Robbing the Cradle: Georgia's Battle to Enact "Raise the Age" Legislation Through HB 462

Authors

Elizabeth HammondFollow

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

In the state of Georgia, seventeen-year-olds are not old enough under the law to vote or consume alcohol and tobacco products. Despite this, they are old enough to be criminally tried as adults. Georgia is one of three states that continues to process seventeen-year-old juvenile offenders through the criminal justice system instead of juvenile court. In September 2023, forty-five juveniles were prosecuted as adults and incarcerated in Georgia prisons. This is significant because juvenile offenders experience better outcomes when they are processed through the juvenile court system because juvenile courts account for a youth’s “naturally high capacity for change and growth to redirect behavior into more healthy and socially positive outcomes” in ways that the criminal justice system does not. In its latest attempt to address this, the Georgia House of Representatives drafted and passed Georgia HB 462 during the 157th legislative session, but it did not pass in the Senate. To faithfully serve and support the juveniles in the state of Georgia, it is imperative that HB 462 be fully passed.

Recommended Citation

Hammond, Elizabeth (2025) "Robbing the Cradle: Georgia's Battle to Enact "Raise the Age" Legislation Through HB 462," Georgia Criminal Law Review: Vol. 3: No. 1, Article 7.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/gclr/vol3/iss1/7