We here at (De)serving Life saw DA Sam Bregman’s “new” Children’s Code Reform for 2026—and we should probably keep it 100:
It’s literally HB 134 all over again.
This is the same exact fear-driven, super predator politics that we already fought back last legislative session. We already have data that shows these policies do more damage to kids and communities than good.
They’re not listening to communities.
They’re not listening to kids.
They’re not listening to anyone who’s survived the system.
This is not about youth safety.
It’s about political climbing, achieved at the expense of our most vulnerable children, who are often survivors of violence in need of therapy and healing.
Let’s get into what this bill really stands for:
- Let’s automatically throw 14-year-old kids into adult courts—no hearing, no chance to show any growth. We’ll just label you, dump you, and forget you.
- Let’s throw kids into adult jail the second they turn 18. Doesn’t matter if they’re mid-case, mid-processing, or mid-trauma. None of it matters. And we’ve already seen what can happen when young people get thrown into adult facilities.
- Let’s use juvenile records in adult court without a judge having any say in it. Forget about the Delinquency Act’s purpose of holding children “accountable for their actions, while also providing care, protection, and rehabilitation.” Forget the concept of “paying your debt to society.” We’ll use the worst mistake you made as a child against you—forever.
- Let’s get rid of detention risk tools. Because why would we use structure and data when we can just go with gut feelings like, “I always knew that kid was going to be trouble”? Sounds like we’re going to see more Black, Brown, and broke kids in cuffs.
- Let’s give scared 14-year-old kids locked in a holding cell the “choice” to waive their rights. I’m sure they’re fully capable of making an informed decision about the rest of their life. The fact that they’re in a holding cell really shows their foresight, maturity, and decision-making skills
And what’s the other priority Bregman is backing?
It’s actually just another flop from the last session—SB 244.
Another recycled bill to criminalize kids who give guns to other kids.
We already know how that’ll play out: stacking more charges on traumatized youth, instead of asking why they felt they needed a gun to feel safe in the first place.
So can we be real for a second?
This is not reform.
This is not safety.
They don’t keep us safe.
Strong and well-organized communities keep us safe.
This is just 1990s super predator politics with a fresh gloss of cheap paint.
For those of us who’ve watched our loved ones—or lived through the system ourselves—we’ve seen our friends and family disappear into a system that promised “accountability,” but only delivered pain. We’ve seen the devastating economic toll that mass incarceration has had on us and our communities.
We know what works—accountability. And this isn’t it.
What does accountability look like?
- When the community shows up.
- When you have mentors who don’t judge.
- When you have a healing space where trauma gets treated—not punished.
- When you have real opportunities, not court dates.
- When you’re given time to grow, without a label that kills your future.
- When everyone impacted by harm has the space and opportunity to heal
At (De)serving Life, we don’t believe in throwing people away.
We believe in redemption, restoration, and never giving up on our children, who are themselves, victims of our collective failure to create safe communities. As community leaders, they deserve our promise that we make every investment needed in uplifting each and every child. Until we keep that promise to our children, it’s immoral to blame them for the violent, gun-ridden society in which they, as children, were born into and now powerless to change.
So to candidate Sam Bregman, Governor Lujan-Grisham, and anyone else betting on our silence, hear us when we say:
We don’t need more mass incarceration. It’s never worked. Children in every neighborhood across our state deserve to grow up feeling safe and loved.
We have to stop blaming our children. It’s time that we come together and make that promise to our children. We have to be accountable and create the safety and healing that they deserve. We can do it. We can create a world in which all children feel safe to dream and reach their full potential in life. But we must first leave mass incarceration behind to begin healing and repairing ourselves and our communities.
Featured image credit: Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal