The Associated Press

A 10-year-old does not belong in jail.

Tuesday, January 16, 2001

A 10-year-old does not belong in jail. A 10-year-old who commits murder or a serious felony is a child who needs special help, not a candidate to be thrown into confinement together with a bunch of older offenders.

It is commendable that Gov. Bob Taft has taken the trouble to emphasize, through an executive order, that the goal of a provision in the new state juvenile justice law, Senate Bill 179, must be to provide these troubled children with the treatment they require.

It is bad enough that Ohio law permits 14-year-olds to be tried as adults. That Ohio has reduced from 12 years to 10 years the age at which children can be taken into state custody is, as the governor declared, more than a little troubling.