"felony criminalization is still oppressive ..."
He's right, how dare they oppress famous multimillionaires as they drunkenly drive through residential areas looking for children or dogs to run over?

Coming out as gay with a wife, kids, and a slew of sexual harassment charges while applying for a job as chief of police is so fucking messy. It says so much about police workplace culture that he actually thinks he has a shot as the top cop in a major city with all this real housewives bullshit in the headlines.

“Yes, my work life is in absolute shambles, but in my defense, my personal life is even worse.” Girl, werk.

@1- DWI is not a felony, at least not in most states. So So Ashley must be complaining about how we’re oppressing people committing even more serious crimes. How dare we oppress murderers, rapists, burglars, and other assorted pillars of society?

Also, when they arrest the little bastard who killed the young man at Roosevelt for trying to break up a fight, I’m sure we can count on the Stranger to rail against locking him up because he’s a minor.

On the one hand we could use an edit function. On the other, much of what Ashley writes is in fact “So So.”

@4 given the conditions noted in the youth jail in today's Slog it would probably be inhumane to lock him up anyway.

@6: You mean the conditions the “No New Youth Jail” crowd (like the Stranger) have simply ignored?

They really have become arsonists, endlessly complaining about the ever-increasing budget of the fire department.

@4: the murder of the kid who was trying to break up a fight occurred at Garfield High School, in the Central District. It is one of many shootings at or near the school this year. And all the shootings have been by minors who belong in the youth jail. Along with those kids that are putting guns in the faces of people and then stealing their phones, handbags, jewelry, and cars, and driving worse than Hellcat through the streets of Seattle, Renton, Tukwila, and other areas of King County. Lock them up!

@6- the youth jail is no picnic. You certainly shouldn’t be there for stealing hubcaps or other youthful shenanigans. But our young shooter needs to be locked up for everyone else’s safety. Perhaps the adult jail makes more sense.

Also, I believe that the country should be referred to as “Ukraine,” not “the Ukraine.” The latter treats it as a region of another country (as in the former USSR), not the independent nation which it is.

@7 Yes, that one. It's also the same one Dow (homelessness has nothing to do with addiction) Constantine vowed to shut down by next year anyway so I guess by the time any of these youths stand trial it won't be an option. I'm so glad we have such visionary leadership in this area!

Damn Kate Bush was fine as wine

@12 "Washington currently requires that each county have a secure youth detention facility, which means locked doors"

I don't think this is correct. RCW 13.16.030 requires counties to have juvenile detention facilities that are separate from adult facilities. However, the definition of "detention facility" in RCW 13.40.020(11) "includes county group homes, inpatient substance abuse programs, juvenile basic training camps, and electronic monitoring." So unless I'm missing something it seems like the KUOW authors just misinterpreted 13.16.030.

@7 Spare us your up is down routine.

You are the kind of arsonist who doesn't want to fund social services, then claim that more law and order is the solution to all problems even though already having one of the greatest incarceration rate in the world should be a clue that your approach isn't working too well.

@14: There’s a huge difference between wanting a world where no juvenile ever must spend time in jail, and pretending we live in such a world now. The “No New Youth Jail” crowd has always done the latter, and it’s biting King County in the ass right now.

I strongly believe first-time youth offenders deserve second chances, and that includes plenty of counseling, and other social services, to help them. The “No New Youth Jail” crowd isn’t helping us to get there.

@14

Not one of the greatest. The US has largest incareration rate in the world and the largest raw numbers of people incarcerated in the world- more than India and China, nations with much larger populations.

Last I saw, per the US states, Oklahoma has a resounding lead.

@15 Arguing against a new youth jail isn't equivalent to not wanting to deal with violent offenders like you and your pals have been pretending. If anything there are already plenty of jail spaces that could be opened up by releasing kids who aren't a threat to anyone. No new youth jail is about not locking up youth that not only don't need to be locked up but for whom incarceration is detrimental to their chances of making different choices.

As for your willingness to support social services, I'll believe it when I see it.

Just to echo @9, there are so many things wrong with this statement “North Korea supposedly has sent Putin supplies to support his invasion of the Ukraine”…

It’s Ukraine not the Ukraine, there’s no question North Korea is supplying Russia with military supplies, and I find it odd that it’s just plain old Putin (I guess we save the genocide pejoratives for Bidden). Glad to see Ashley doing the dirty work for Russian trolls.

@20 An attorney who defends foster youth and their families says that many of her clients end up in juvenile detention because DSHS couldn't get youth to comply or because kids ran away from foster families:

https://nonewyouthjail.com/2018/08/24/stop-the-jail-but-also-stop-the-racist-and-punitive-family-court-system/

@16 Several online references put the US at No 6 for incarceration rate and No 1 for number of incarcerated people

@17: The current juvenile facility has reached the end of its operational life, so King County has planned to build a new one. Therefore, the “No New Youth Jail” crowd fully intended to leave King County without a facility for holding violent juvenile offenders. This was abolitionist philosophy in action.

Your lack of understanding/admission on this point doesn’t change any of the above.