Residents voice concerns about juvenile-justice system

Residents received an opportunity to voice their thoughts about the state’s juvenile-justice system during a public forum Saturday at St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau.

The forum was the fifth in Missouri, with previous ones in St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield to pursue input from Missourians statewide.

Cape Girardeau lawyer Jacob Zimmerman listened as about a dozen residents expressed their thoughts on a variety of issues Saturday.

Zimmerman serves on the Missouri Supreme Court’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness, which was established in October 2015 to help assure fairness and full participation for racial and ethnic minorities in the judicial process and the practice of law, according to the state court system’s website.

Mary Walker and Ramona Bailey expressed concerns with discrimination in the educational system.

Pat Colon, left, and Tim Lane discuss the juvenile-justice system during a public forum Saturday at St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

Pastor Renita Green became emotional while sharing her story of growing up on the edge of delinquency and emphasized the need to help local youth.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Shelly Moore shared her perspectives on parenting problems in the area, and many in attendance noted a problem with the stigma attached to the juvenile-justice system for children and parents.

“A lot of the parents are either misinformed or they have misconceptions about how the process works,” deputy juvenile officer Tim Lane said. “And there’s a fear, man. There’s a fear. Who wants to come in here and say, ‘OK, I feel like my child is being mistreated,’ or what have you?”

Morris Jenkins, dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Southeast Missouri State University, speaks during a public forum to discuss the juvenile-justice system Saturday at St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau.Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

Lane said he wished more locals would have attended the forum, hoping to better explain the juvenile-justice system’s functionality to skeptical parents.

“I’m not trying to sound pessimistic or cynical, but I’ve been to forums before, and without the people coming out wanting to make change happen, it’s not going to happen,” he said. “You can’t do it with four or five people, and a lot of the agencies people have concerns with aren’t even here.”

After the forum, Zimmerman said he was glad to see discussion from the community, but added many problems mentioned fall outside of the commission’s reach.

Cape Girardeau lawyer Jacob Zimmerman speaks during a public forum to discuss the juvenile-justice system Saturday at St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau.Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

“It’s frustrating because you know there’s problems,” Zimmerman said. “You have solutions, but a lot of times, it’s beyond our scope.”

“I think that there’s a real sense that the problem is deeper than just one issue, and there’s a lot of things that are leading kids into the juvenile system or leading families into contact with the abuse and neglect system. These are all issues that the commission itself may not be able to address, but we’d like to see if maybe there are things we can address.”

Zimmerman said the commission will issue a complete report early next year based on input from Missourians and will make recommendations on how to improve the system.

Cape Girardeau Ward 2 Councilwoman Shelly Moore listens to discussions about the juvenile-justice system Saturday at St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau.Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

bmatthews@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

516 North Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.