A Senate committee today shot down a House-passed bill that would have allowed for new punishment of parents with repeat juvenile offenders in Louisiana.
The sponsor, New Orleans Representative Walker Hines, tried to convince lawmakers that this would act as a deterrent by sentencing parents to community service.
''You know we have tremendous juvenile crime, we have state prisons that are made up of 75 percent high school drop outs,'' Hines said.
Senator Rob Marioneaux of Livonia aruged with Hines. He said the punishment should stick to the offender, not the parents.
''I don't even want to give the opportunity for some judge to make a name for his or herself because of what my kid or my grandchild has done," Marioneaux said.
Hines fired back, saying the system is not working now to control juvenile crime. '' We need some new solutions, we need to think outside the box and hold the parents responsible.''
E-Mail Story
Print Story
