Should 12-year-olds be tried as adults for felonies? Missouri reform could raise age

A sweeping crime bill aimed at adjusting Missouri’s rules around minors charged with violent crimes, among other changes to criminal laws, has passed the state’s House of Representatives and is now making its way through the state Senate.

HB 1659, sponsored by Joplin Republican Rep. Lane Roberts, includes provisions to raise the age a minor can be charged as an adult to 14 and make it illegal to fire celebratory gunshots within city limits.

The bill also clarifies limits to the powers of local civilian police oversight boards. Before being elected to the state House, Roberts was the chief of Joplin’s police department for 27 years.

Other possible changes include creating educational programs for incarcerated minors, establishing a fund for local public defenders’ offices and clarifying the charges around drug dealing, gun-related crimes and harming law enforcement animals, according to the bill.

HB 1659 is nearly identical to a crime bill Missouri Gov. Mike Parson vetoed last year. At the time, Parson cited two amendments related to criminal expungements and restitution as his reason for overriding the state legislature. Those amendments aren’t present in HB 1659, but the state Senate may add others before the bill comes to a vote.

Not all state representatives are in favor of the bill. Several Kansas City Democrats, including Rep. Emily Weber, Rep. Yolanda Young and Rep. Patty Lewis voted against it in its final House vote in late February.

They were not available for comment on why they opposed the bill when The Star reached out.

Here’s what the broad-ranging bill could mean for Missourians if it becomes law this summer.

Changes around minors charged as adults

Currently, children as young as 12 can be tried as adults for any felony in Missouri at the court’s discretion. HB 1659 would raise that age to 14.

However, kids as young as 12 could still be tried as adults for serious crimes, including rape, murder, robbery and drug dealing. Roberts says that provision is less about punishment and more about the resources available to those convicted of violent crimes.

“There are more options available under the adult system,” Roberts told The Star, adding that juvenile justice experts advised him on the language in the bill. “A child who has committed an offense of that nature could probably benefit… by being tried as an adult. It seems counterintuitive, but I understood the argument (the experts) made.”

The bill also requires the state to collect and report data on how many minors are charged as adults each year, along with what crimes they are charged with, their race and whether they waive their right to counsel.

Finally, the bill specifies that “correctional treatment programs” for minors convicted of crimes should “include educational programs that award a high school diploma or its equivalent.”

Blair’s Law

The crime bill contains several additions to Missouri’s firearm laws, including one called “Blair’s Law,” which would make it a crime to fire a gun “within or into the limits of any municipality.”

This provision is the latest of several attempts by state lawmakers to impose stricter punishments on those who fire celebratory gunshots. The proposed law is named after Blair Shanahan Lane, an 11-year-old killed by a stray bullet on July 4, 2011.

“Unfortunately, people have tried to make it a Second Amendment issue,” Roberts said. “The fact is that when somebody fires a firearm, somewhere that bullet is going to come down. And when you do it indiscriminately, you put people’s lives at risk.”

The version of Blair’s Law in the bill carves out numerous exceptions for where guns can be fired, including for self-defense, hunting, firing blanks, law enforcement activities and firing a gun on a shooting range. The law also doesn’t apply to areas outside of municipalities.

“A lot of legislation is about balance,” Roberts said. “Firearms are an important part of our culture (in Missouri) and we want to be very careful with this bill that we’re actually addressing a particular problem and not inadvertently affecting other people’s rights.”

In some cities, including Kansas City, it’s already illegal to fire a gun within city limits, except in self-defense. If passed, Blair’s Law would be the first statewide law regulating firearm use in municipalities.

Police oversight

A small wording change to a provision about police oversight boards in HB 1659 could have a widespread impact on the power of civilians to ensure accountability for law enforcement.

These groups are responsible for investigating and recommending discipline in cases of police misconduct, including excessive use of force, abuse of authority and discriminatory language. But the bill makes their power “solely limited to” those advisory roles.

The reason, Roberts said, is that some civilian oversight boards have been overstepping their authority by “insisting” on disciplinary measures. He did not provide an example of such a case.

“We have to be careful that we don’t create a situation where people who have limited experience and training … could actually affect an outcome,” he said.

“What they say does weigh on a disciplinary decision. But there are technicalities involved in how we go about enforcing the law that the civilian review board may or may not be aware of.”

Other Missouri criminal law changes

Here are a few other changes the bill proposes:

• Creating a task force to address cyberstalking and online harassment that makes annual recommendations for policies, victims’ rights, educational resources and law enforcement training

• Strengthening the charges related to harming a law enforcement animal, like a drug-sniffing dog or a police horse

• Clarifying the charges around drug dealing, including removing the defense that a drug user chose to take drugs that later resulted in harm or death.

• Defining “armed criminal action” as an “unclassified felony,” which Roberts said will help prosecutors make decisions about criminal charges involving firearms.

• Creating a fund for local offices of the state public defender, which will be filled using budget allocations, federal grants, private donations and other sources.

Roberts expressed hope that HB 1659, or its twin bill in the state Senate, will see progress in the coming weeks. The legislature has one more month to pass laws before its session ends on May 17.

If the bill passes, Gov. Mike Parson will then have the final say on whether it becomes law — or faces a repeat of last year’s veto.

Do you have more questions about criminal justice in Missouri or Kansas? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.