EBR District Attorney urging leaders to overhaul state’s juvenile justice system

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore is calling for an overhaul of the state’s juvenile justice system.

Moore shared his comments at a news conference Wednesday, Nov. 30, where Baton Rouge leaders talked about new ways and initiatives to fight crime in the city.

The district attorney said the way the state handles the sentencing of some young offenders is unfair to the victims and the public.

“When you have a juvenile that commits a gun crime, for example a murder, the longest he can stay in state’s custody and detained as a juvenile is 21,” Moore said.

“When you try to explain to victims of juvenile crime that this is the maximum time we can give them unless they’re tried as an adult, that’s just not acceptable to someone who lost someone to gun violence, or acceptable to the public,” Moore said.

He believes a change in the sentencing structure could prevent some repeat offenders from committing more crimes and help hold more people accountable.

“I understand the brain development theory, I got that. I know that we have a lot of people that are juveniles that have no parent and being raised by other kids. I have all that. However, at some point when that juvenile has a fully automatic weapon in his hand, that five-foot defendant is eight foot tall in the eyes he has the gun on,” Moore said.

This is something Moore hopes will get immediate attention.

”These are troubling and difficult issues that we have to deal with. There’s no easy answer. It’s always case by case, but it’s one we really need to take a look at,” Moore said.

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