In Texas, a federal law that has been protecting minors in the criminal justice system since 1974 has finally been reauthorized. The renewed law seeks to reduce the number of kids incarcerated in adult prisons, avoid jailing minors for certain offenses, and address the problem of the disproportionate numbers of Latino and African-American youth crowding the criminal justice system. Mariana Pineda reports from Houston on the impact of this law in Texas, one of few states where 17-year-olds are tried as adults.
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