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Image: Lisa Larson-Walker/ProPublica

A Black teen girl in Michigan has been in juvenile detention since May, after a judge ruled that she broke her parole by not finishing her homework.

ProPublica broke the story of Grace, a 15-year-old diagnosed with ADHD, who was put on probation in mid-April after fighting with her mother. The terms of her probation included completing her homework.

But Grace's probation started as COVID-19 began shutting down the country, and classes moved online. She says she had a hard time focusing on her schoolwork after she started taking remote classes. 

Grace couldn't keep up, and at a hearing in May, a judge sentenced her to juvenile detention for failing to complete her classwork.

The sentencing sparked protests, as members of Grace's school and community rallied to have her charges dropped. Thousands have signed petitions online.

 

 

 

 

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Protestors are calling the sentencing racial bias, saying that if Grace was white, she wouldn't be in juvenile detention.

"A lot of people were behind on their work this semester, no one had motivation to do anything because the teachers weren't teaching and we were all online," Prudence Canter, an 18-year-old student told Reuters. "I know so many people that didn't do their homework."

Another hearing was scheduled for Grace in July, but the judge presiding over the case, Mary Ellen Brennan, said that Grace wasn't ready to be released to her mother, and will stay in juvenile detention.

"I miss my mom," Grace reportedly told the court. "I can control myself. I can be obedient."

Grace's next court date is scheduled for September.

Update: The Michigan Court of Appeals ordered for Grace's release on Friday, July 31 after public outrage and nationwide pressure. Grace was picked up from Children's Village—an Oakland County juvenile detention center—by her mother. She will get to go home for the first time in weeks.

by Erin Sargent | 7/23/2020