Right now, 422 Indigenous people incarcerated in Washington’s state prisons are serving longer sentences because they were involved in the juvenile system as children.
No one should be penalized twice for crimes committed when they were young. Our focus must be on healing and rehabilitation, not punishment.
The Legislature recognized this in 2023 with the passage of Washington state House Bill 1324, ending the automatic use of juvenile points in sentencing, which disproportionately impact our communities of color. However, the bill did not apply retroactively, leaving behind more than 1,000 individuals incarcerated and failing to correct past harms.
House Bill 2065 would remedy that by giving those people the opportunity to have their sentences recalculated without double-penalizing people for juvenile mistakes. We urge our colleagues to support this necessary reform bill, so we can begin to rectify the vast racial disparities in our prison system.
Our tribal communities are the most disproportionately impacted by this failed state carceral policy — 41 percent of Indigenous people currently incarcerated have one or more juvenile felony adjudications in their criminal history. That number is 39 percent for Black people, 38 percent for Pacific Islanders, and 32 percent for Latinx people. The evidence is clear: juvenile points are a quiet driver of racial disproportionality and inequity, particularly for our Tribes.
Indigenous peoples suffer from generations of historical trauma, spanning the forced migration to Indian reservations, the abduction and assimilation of Indian children in federal boarding schools, and the destruction of Indigenous kinship systems. Our youth carry their parents’ and grandparents’ trauma, which contributes to the mistakes they make and the hurt they cause others as juveniles.
Current scientific research has shown that young people’s brains are rarely fully developed before age 25. Due also to mental health afflictions associated with intergenerational trauma, many Indigenous and other marginalized children are unable to fully grasp the consequences of their incorrect choices.
HB 2065 modernizes Washington state’s sentencing system in a way that is developmentally appropriate and efficient and addresses historic racial disproportionality caused by the use of juvenile points. It’s fundamentally unjust that two people can serve vastly different sentences for committing the same offense, simply because of an arbitrary difference in the time when the sentence was handed down. Retroactive reform ensures that the adjustments we make to our criminal justice system benefit those who have been most severely impacted by its inequities.
At the same time, victims and survivors need to be seen and heard. We must protect against retraumatizing them in the resentencing process. That is why we appreciate State Representative Lauren Davis’s contribution to the bill through amendments allowing for victim advocacy services and wrap-around support.
In supporting HB 2065, we all have the opportunity to break the cycle of multi-generational trauma, heal wounds, foster empathy and public safety, and pave the way for a future where every member of our society can thrive.
Washington state Rep. Chris Stearns, Navajo
Washington state Sen. Claudia Kauffman, Nez Perce
