Rep. Gill Bill Passes House, Prosecutes Young Criminals as Felons

Washington, D.C. - The House of Representatives today voted 225 to 203 to pass Congressman Brandon Gill's (R-TX) DC Juvenile Sentencing Reform Act. This legislation should now be considered by the Senate for a vote, so that it can head to President Trump's desk to be signed into law.

"I am thankful to my colleagues for voting yes on my effort to ensure that thugs who break the law and commit heinous crimes are able to be prosecuted at the fullest extent of the law," said Rep. Gill. "President Trump's mandate and today's vote further prove that Republicans are the party of law and order. We are saving Washington, DC, from the sins of the Democrats who have driven it to the ground!"

Rep. Gill introduced the DC Juvenile Sentencing Reform Act, which lowers the age of eligibility for juveniles to be transferred from juvenile court to felony court for certain violent crimes down from age 16 to 14.

Under current law, minors under 16 are generally under the jurisdiction of the D.C. Family Court for juvenile matters. The legislation would lower the threshold to 14, meaning that minors 14 and older can be placed under adult criminal court jurisdiction. The violent crimes covered are murder, first-degree sexual abuse, burglary in the first degree, robbery while armed, or assault with intent to commit any such offense. Moreover, the legislation would result in an increase in the number of cases that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia can try.

Background:

• In 2024, Washington, D.C.'s homicide rate was 27.3 per 1,000,000 residents. This was the fourth highest in the country. In 2022, the D.C. council passed a pro-crime, anti-police bill called the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act, proving they don't take the problem of crime seriously and Congress must act.

• In D.C., there have been steady increases since 2020 in crimes committed by people under the age of 18. To make matters worse, many of these criminals have already been arrested for violent crimes. In 2024, nearly 200 juveniles arrested for violent crimes had prior violent crime arrests. Violent criminals should not be treated like children and given lenient sentences only to commit more crimes and endanger our constituents.

• In 2021, Uber Eats Driver Mohammed Anwar was killed in Washington, D.C., during an altercation after two teenage girls attempted to carjack him. One of the criminals was 15 years old, charged with felony murder, received the maximum possible sentence under D.C. law, and will be out on the street when she turns 21 years old. If enacted before the murder, the legislation would have made it much easier for the criminal to be tried as an adult for felony murder, possibly resulting in a life sentence instead of a slap on the wrist.

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