BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A New Orleans lawmaker's bid to raise the adult prosecution age in Louisiana by one year has cleared one of its last major hurdles, gaining the support of the state House.

The House voted 97-3 Thursday to send the proposal from Democratic Sen. J.P. Morrell to the Senate for final approval. The Senate is expected to approve minor changes to give final passage to the bill to include 17-year-old offenders in the juvenile justice system.

District attorneys could still charge 17-year-olds as adults for serious crimes, under Morrell's proposal.

Louisiana is one of nine states that treat 17-year-old offenders as adults, but Gov. John Bel Edwards supports the proposed change and said he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

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Senate Bill 324: www.legis.la.gov

 

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