I knew I had to pay : Legislation looks to give Wisconsin teens convicted of homicide a second chance
Posted: 7:17 AM, May 04, 2021
Updated: 2021-05-06 11:51:00-04
It was 1992. Dominee Meek was supposed to be running errands for his mom, but his friends picked him up and the group found trouble. Meek saw a man named Lawrence from a rival gang. Meek felt he was being disrespected because Lawrence continued to walk the streets and neighborhoods that he considered his own.
15 years old, making life-changing decisions.
âI pointed the gun at his head and I pulled the trigger twice.â
It was 1992. Dominee Meek was supposed to be running errands for his mom, but his friends picked him up and the group found trouble. Meek saw a man named Lawrence from a rival gang. Meek felt he was being disrespected because Lawrence continued to walk the streets and neighborhoods that he considered his own.
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As an editorial board, we have long believed that if any group deserves a second chance to make good after committing even the worst of crimes, it’s teenagers.
Granting a second chance at redemption to an impressionable, impulsive 15-year-old whose crime came maybe after years of abuse or living amid violence and poverty, is the decent thing to do. And it’s a view supported by the science of adolescent brain development, which has found through ample research that our brains are not fully developed able to rein in rash behavior, make rational decisions and weigh the long-term consequences of actions until our mid-20s.
Knoxville is expected to get some $44 million $22 million this year and another $22 million next year thanks to the huge Biden Administration coronavirus relief package that Congress narrowly passed in March. The mayor s proposed budget does not include that money, which is expected to arrive in mid May, according to city staff.
The city also will have to figure out what it can legally use the money for.
Highlights of the new budget: Almost $8.2 million would go toward affordable housing, according to the city. Kincannon also wants to commit the city to spend $50 million over 10 years for a Knoxville Affordable Housing Fund.