Stoneleigh Youth Advocacy Fellow Aqilah David is featured by KYW Newsradio for her work on a new Juvenile Law Center report that examines how fines and fees impact the youth justice system.
A new report by the Juvenile Law Center found that fines and fees that courts charge juvenile offenders leave many in debt, harming their chances of becoming productive adults.
Aqilah David is a youth advocate at the Juvenile Law Center and co-author of the report on fines and fees. She’s also a survivor of the system that charges them.
“I was arrested at the age of 15 and ordered to pay numerous court fees that I couldn’t afford at the time,” David said.
David said it took her 10 years to pay them off, which is not unique. Others cited in the report had to postpone college, skim on essentials, or stay mired in the system as they struggled to close the debt.
