King’s son speaks out against teens being tried as adults

Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2003 | 8:57 a.m.

Martin Luther King III, son of the slain civil rights leader, spoke forcefully Tuesday at a Las Vegas conference against treating teens as adults in the nation's courts and prisons.

"A nation is judged by how it treats its most precious resources -- and certainly children are among our most precious resources, yet we don't treat them as such," King said in a speech lasting about an hour.

King's speech came on the second day of the three-day conference, "A Global Approach to End Juvenile Injustice," at Circus Circus.

Under Our Wings, a Florida nonprofit, held the event to oppose the growing number of teens under 18 being tried and sentenced as adults nationwide.

The group is also against applying the death penalty to teens.

This week's event is the second annual conference devoted to the issue of juvenile justice. Bishop Thomas Masters, president of the group, said he invited King to speak at the conference because "the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. brings a national spotlight to what we are doing."

King, who serves on the board of directors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, referred to his father's legacy often in his speech -- and to his father's death.

"Perhaps I should be ... an advocate for the death penalty because I am truly a victim," he said.

"My father was gunned down doing his job. But I know ... that you can dislike the evil act, but still love the individual," he said.

In a press conference afterward, King said treating juveniles as adults in the justice system does not get at what he called "the root of the problem."

"We have to treat the root of the problem, which is a lack of parenting and the teens having no means of survival, which makes them turn to the drug culture and gangs," he said.

"Prevention is the first step, followed by diversion and treatment ... to create a better community."

Masters said juveniles in adult prisons "end up doing more crime."

"When they get out, they can't vote, get in the military, or get a good job ... (so they) go back to crime," he said.

He also said the United States' use of the death penalty against teens under 18 makes us "out of step with the rest of the world."

"Teens under 18 cannot serve on a jury, but a jury can convict a child," he said. "That makes no sense."

King's appearance drew attention from some of the hotel's black workers, a small group of whom gathered after his speech to take pictures with him.

Terence Tyler, a 24-year-old Detroit native and business center clerk at the hotel, "snuck in" to see parts of King's speech. He said he wants to work with teens in the juvenile system who are attempting to rehabilitate themselves and doesn't believe they should be imprisoned.

He also said his grandparents saw Martin Luther King Jr. speak in Detroit before he was born.

"Most young people today aren't aware of what he stood for," he said.

"But I think his message still means a lot -- what he stood for is still real."