The age for charging most people with adult crimes would rise from 17 to 18 in Georgia under a bill moving forward in the state House. The House Juvenile Justice Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to approve House Bill 272, sending it to the full House.
House Juvenile Justice Committee Chairman Mandi Ballinger cites testimony from experts that teen brains are developing and lack the impulse control usually seen in older people. Advocates say that means 17-year-olds should go to juvenile courts. Young people aged 17 would still be charged as adults for certain violent crimes just as those ages 13 to 16 already are in Georgia.