racial injustice

Michigan Judge Denies Release of Teen Who Was Jailed After Not Doing Homework

"I miss my mom. I can control myself. I can be obedient," the 15-year-old girl known as Grace reportedly said during a hearing Monday

In this Feb. 3, 2009, file photo, a judges gavel rests on top of a desk in the courtroom of the Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A 15-year-old Black girl who has been incarcerated in Michigan since mid-May after she failed to do her online schoolwork won't be returning home, a judge decided Monday, in a case that has stoked outrage that it is emblematic of systemic racism and the criminalization of Black children.

Oakland County Judge Mary Ellen Brennan determined that the girl has been benefiting from a residential treatment program at a juvenile detention center, but is not yet ready to be with her mother. Brennan, the presiding judge of the court's Family Division, scheduled another hearing for September, NBC affiliate WDIV reported.

The girl, who is being identified only by her middle name, Grace, was the subject of a report published last week by ProPublica Illinois, with politicians and community activists expressing outrage over her incarceration.

Grace told the judge that she wanted to go home: "I miss my mom. I can control myself. I can be obedient."

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

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