Officials Calling For End Of Juvenile Shackling

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Officials are calling for the end of juvenile shackling in court.

The Baltimore Sun reports that agencies such as the Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit in the state attorney general's office have called on the Department of Juvenile Services to stop the use of juvenile shackling, a method in which juveniles are chained with several pounds of shackles around their bodies.

Melanie D. Shapiro, chief attorney for the public defender's juvenile court division in Baltimore City, says the practice treats juveniles like hardened criminals.

Officials at Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services say they need to shackle those in their care to prevent the facilities from devolving into the violence.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the shackling of adults in court in most cases violates civil rights.

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