Despite numerous studies that show there has been a sharp decrease in juvenile-crime rates since 1993, the media spotlight on young offenders has created the illusion of a new breed of juvenile “superpredators.” This is particularly true in California—home to one-fifth of America’s 100,000 young prisoners—where a punitive measure called the “Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act” has made it onto the March 2000 ballot. Proposition 21, as it is known, is sponsored by former Gov. Pete Wilson and a host of multinational corporations, including Chevron and Transamerica.

This news feature was published in Metroactive’s Sonoma County Independent. It also ran on AlterNet.org and TomPaine.com. Read the article online.