Bill Would Authorize Teens as Young as 14 to be Tried as Adults

“This approach doesn’t improve public safety. It only traumatizes our babies. History tells us as much.”

Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) delivered a forceful speech on the House floor condemning Republicans’ bill to override the will of Washington, DC residents and authorize children as young as 14 to be tried as adults in the criminal legal system. The Congresswoman instead urged Republicans to support community-based, trauma-informed public safety solutions, and to stop delaying or cutting funding for community violence prevention programs.

In her remarks, Rep. Pressley invoked the story of the Exonerated 5—five Black and brown teenage boys wrongfully convicted of a horrific crime in Central Park despite being innocent of all accusations—and underscored that treating children as adults in the criminal legal system is a failed and racist approach that increases trauma and worsens public safety outcomes.

Earlier this month, Rep. Pressley as Trump threatened further National Guard action in cities nationwide, Rep. Pressley joined advocates and councilmembers to condemn Donald Trump’s unlawful occupation and federal law enforcement surge in Washington, DC.

A full transcript of Congresswoman Pressley’s remarks, as delivered, is below, and the full video is available here.

Transcript: Pressley Condemns Harmful GOP Bill to Criminalize Young Teenagers in Washington, DC

House of Representatives

September 16, 2025

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this legislation.

This bill seeks to create 14-year-old prisoners in the adult criminal legal system. We know this approach doesn’t improve public safety. It only traumatizes our babies. History tells us as much.

Antron McCray, 15 years old.

Yusuf Salaam, 15 years old.

Raymond Santana, 14 years old.

Korey Wise, 16 years old.

Kevin Richardson, 14 years old.

These 5 boys with big smiles and bright futures ahead of them – went on to experience fear and manipulation that no child should. They were threatened, harassed, coerced, abused, and tried as adults. The very harm that this Republican bill would expand. 

From the moment of their arrest, these teenage boys – these Black boys – were treated as guilty of a horrific crime in Central Park despite being innocent of all accusations. It was part of the hyper-punitive culture that prioritized political talking points about being “tough on crime” and targeted Black and brown communities rather than investing in resources and policies that actually keep us all safe. Sound familiar?

During their trial, there was a PR campaign against the boys on TV and in newspapers. Donald J. Trump himself spent the equivalent of more than two hundred thousand dollars advocating for them to get the death penalty.

These five Black and brown children were innocent, but Trump wanted them killed. 

To this day, he has not even apologized. And Republicans in Congress are supporting him and his bigotry with this bill.

The story of the Exonerated 5 is a tragedy and part of our shared history, but Republicans want it to be the future. 

First, their rhetoric demonized our communities. Then, they began weaponizing the National Guard against citizens. Now, they’re changing laws to incarcerate more people at an even younger age. And of course, the prison industrial complex will reap the profits.

What Republicans are doing in DC they want to apply to the entire country.

This Republican bill perpetuates racism. The Department of Justice statistics show that Black kids are twice as likely to be incarcerated compared to white kids despite committing, at the same rate, those crimes.

This Republican bill is flawed. By treating children as adults, you deny them the protections from abuse from adults in prison, including bullying, physical violence, sexual assault, and rape.

This Republican bill makes children’s lives worse. 

Unlike in other states, when kids in DC are treated as adults, the Bureau of Prisons ships them hundreds of miles away from their family and loved ones to places like South Dakota or Texas. This makes rehabilitation harder and increases the likelihood of recidivism.

But don’t just take my word for it. There is a large coalition opposing this bill.

Scientists telling us that young people’s brains are not even fully developed until their twenties. They don’t share the same culpability for their actions as adults when they are only 14 years old. 

Lawyers explaining that children treated as adults – even when they are innocent – are denied age-appropriate legal protections for the rest of their lives.

Sociologists finding that children who commit crimes are overwhelmingly influenced by adults and their surroundings, not their own thinking. 

And, of course, the people of DC who did not vote for Trump or any Republican – for that matter – to be a city councilor.

Republicans are supporting this legislation not because they care about public safety.

If Republicans cared about reducing crime, they would tell Trump to stop delaying funding for community violence prevention programs that were passed with bipartisan support.

If Republicans cared about victims, they would stop making cuts to the Crime Victims Fund so that people who experience harm get the help that they need.

If Republicans cared about our kids, they would invest in restorative justice programs that teach children how to resolve their conflicts without violence.

If Republicans cared about our kids, they would support common sense solutions to prevent school shootings.

I urge my colleagues to vote no on this bill.

To keep our babies safe from trauma, abuse, and fear.

In the words of James Baldwin, “the children are always ours, every single one.” I challenge you to protect them all.

I yield back.

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