Counties want cash if 17-year-olds are no longer tried as adults

Bill before legislature would
try 17-year-olds juveniles again

Seventeen-year-olds who commit crimes in Wisconsin could go back to being considered juveniles, under bills before the legislature.

And, if those bills pass, local governments want more funding from Madison to accommodate the change.

Vicki Burke from the La Crosse County judiciary committee says most experts agree that separating the 17-year-old from the adult population in jail is a good idea.

The committee has endorsed the proposed change in how 17-year-olds are handled in the system. Only eight states besides Wisconsin still send suspects who are 17 to adult court.