End ‘juvenile points’ sentencing that disproportionately harms Indigenous people

In Washington’s prisons, hundreds of Indigenous people are facing overly long sentences due to incorrect choices they made as children. A bill pending in Olympia, House Bill 2065, would help bring hope to incarcerated people, forgiveness to those they hurt and equity to tribal communities in our state.

In 1997, when the now-debunked myth of the juvenile “superpredator” was embraced, the Legislature passed laws that expanded the ability of the state to try children as adults. The legislation also allowed the inclusion of juvenile adjudication “points” in adult sentencing calculations. This meant that people would automatically receive longer sentences in the adult system because of their prior involvement in the juvenile justice system — they would be punished twice for the same mistake.  

In the 2023 session, the Legislature ended the practice of punishing adults based on what they did as children, recognizing the science around brain development and the excessive harm done to communities of color. But that reform was prospective only. Meaningful sentencing reform requires the application of these reforms to those currently incarcerated. The new bill would allow people to apply for resentencing without the consideration of those juvenile convictions.

Indigenous children were first incarcerated by the United States government in Indian boarding schools, starting in the 1800s. Once separated from their mothers and fathers, those children endured physical abuse and sexual violence at the hands of federal “educators.” The historical, intergenerational trauma caused by that incarceration and violence is still felt deeply throughout tribal communities today. That trauma manifests itself in afflictions such as in utero trauma and fetal alcohol syndrome, which prevent many Indigenous youth from understanding the consequences of bad choices.   

Passage of HB 2065 is necessary to help break the cycle of multigenerational trauma in tribal communities, especially because Indigenous people are the most disproportionately impacted by juvenile sentencing points of any people in Washington. That is why last month the Colville Tribes joined a coalition of 21 tribes and Indigenous reentry organizations that urged the Legislature to pass the bill.

The data is stark. As many as 41% of the Indigenous people incarcerated in state prisons face overly long sentences because of juvenile points. Of the 29 federally recognized tribes in our state, 23 have incarcerated members with one or more juvenile felony adjudications. My own community on the Colville Reservation has the most adult members in state prison on juvenile points, with 39 members incarcerated.  A state policy that has such disproportionate impacts on tribes must be reformed.

Our legal system will not be reformed, though, if we leave behind community members who were sentenced before the policy was changed last year. If a law is unjust going forward, it cannot be justified for those already incarcerated.  

To be sure, our people should be held accountable for their actions and the trauma they cause others. But automatically increasing a person’s punishment because of an offense they committed as a youth does not serve anybody’s best interests. That practice does not make our communities safer, or bring healing to victims, or help our people heal.

House Bill 2065, which would allow state court judges to resentence people without double-penalizing them, is ultimately about achieving restorative justice among incarcerated people, their victims, and our society. As our coalition assured the Legislature: Our tribal governments and Indigenous reentry organizations stand prepared to work with our state and community partners to achieve those rehabilitative goals.

I urge the Legislature to pass HB 2065 and help bring healing to our state.