Teens get second chance for justice

Seventeen-year-olds who were charged with felonies as adults under a short-lived state law will have their cases dismissed or be transferred back to juvenile court under a judge’s ruling released in Providence.

The decision affects about 100 teens known as “gap kids” who were charged from July to November after Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri and the Democratic General Assembly agreed to send the teens to adult courts and prisons as a cost-saving measure.

“It is apparent that defendants’ rights were violated by their direct placement in the adult criminal system,” Superior Court Judge Daniel Procaccini said in his ruling.