rolling stones who played a surprise context. they begin a tour starting in san diego. still going strong. [ ♪♪ ] on "america tonight" - he was on board before decriminalizing was cool. correspondent adam may with the leader once nicknamed mayor smoak. >> how do you think the war on drugs affected inner cities like baltimore? >> i think that the way in which the country conducted the war on drugs has done more harm than good. is cutting class a crime? it is in texas, where "america tonight"s lori jane gliha found more than 100,000 kids landed in criminal court just for skipping

school. >> it was tiny. having to go up to the podium and, like look up was scary thanks for joining us i'm when. the drive to make our nation's schools better and students better has led to more tests, curriculum standards being tougher and in some districts hard-line efforts to keep kids in class. in wyoming and texas it brought some students even young ones into the harsh reality of adult criminal court. that is right, cutting classes become a crime. "america tonight"s lori jane gliha investigates now - the tough stand against truancy. >> i'm thinking you know what's going to happen to me am i going to gaol. i kept asking them. i was like "am i dining to gaol." >> reporter: ty said he was in

seventh grade when he got his first summons to attend court. >> having to go to the podium and look up was scary. >> i was nervous, i was sweat i and shaken. >> reporter: at 15, christian faced a judge self times. the two boys are among tens of thousands of children forced to go to an adult criminal court for missing school. did you understand why they were calling you truant? >> no i had no idea. it was knew to mow. i had never -- it was new to me. i had never heard of truancy. >> reporter: in texas, it's an offense carrying a $500 nine and the threat of gaol time. in 2013 the state sent more than twice the number of kids to truancy court an all other states combined. for kids like christian, getting to class is not always easy. >> ready. >> yes.

>> i'll be 15 minutes it's friday and for the first time all week christian will attend school. christian is depressed, and his mum says he suffered a.d.h.d. he says he likes school but can't bring himself to go. >> i'll get my clothes ready. as soon as i wake up something is texting me to stay home. >> what is it? >> in my opinion. probably i don't want to be there with the other kids. i would rather stay home and sleep. >> reporter: his mother said he's been struggling with changes at home. >> the separation and the divorce, that's when i noticed a huge change in christian. last december he lost a brother on his dad's side. it was a huge impact in his life. >> diana is a single mother and works two jobs and says it's not easy to get her mum to school. >> i tried being supportive. i talked to the teachers and have given them hope. i explained everything worked

out a plan to get him caught up. i have tape him to counselling. >> one of the first times diana and her son went to court, they paid more than $300 in fines and fees, since then she's paid more than $1,000 for her son's absences. did you have hope that the court would help? >> i did, i thought he would learn a less job, it didn't -- lesson, it didn't help he wasn't paying the fines i was. >> describe how it impact you. >> i didn't know whether to pay the mortgage or this. it was hard. >> reporter: did that make your son go back to school? >> no it caused more burden financial problems. >> reporter: if fines don't get paid, it could lead to gaol. >> it's a dark example. >> deborah foeler is an executive director of apple seed. >> we are treating true ants

like adult criminals. >> it means a kid as young as 12 years old could end up in an adult criminal court where they could end up with a conviction that could follow them through their lives without access to council, and many other protections that exist in the juvenile system. >> fowler coughed a report finding poor families children with disabilities and minority students are sent to truancy court. that is why fowler and cool eegs participationed the department of justice to vet the county which operates the truancy court system in the state. ty is one of the students to go through the dallas county court system a few times. his father is blind, and has been charged for contributing to his son's absences. just travelling to court was complicated. lamarr uses a guide dog.

he relies on public transportation to get around. what was worse was navigating the criminal justice system. >> did you understand what pleading guilty meant? >> i had no idea. i knew with the fine if we could pay it it would be done. >> lamarr says the first trip to court stemmed from a mistake. >> it seemed easier to plead guilty financially. i did explain he was never truant. they said that would have to be saved for the trial if i pled not guilty. that was when i asked about having an attorney and that's when he told me i was free to have an attorney at my own expense. >> like many that end up in truensy court, he couldn't afford a lawyer and paid a fine. >> you are charging me because my son is truent as if to suggest it's up to me to make sure my son is in the seat in

class. what does this put me as a working parent. what do i do i can't show up to work. it's the parent who is paying the price. literally. fagly and otherwise. and otherwise if i don't pay the price. he goes away in cuffs. >> texas legislators are debating whether to decriminalize truancy for children to do away with fine the threat of gaol and a child's trip to a courtroom, with the graduation rate at 88%, one of the highest, some argue putting kids through the criminal justice system means texas is doing something right. over the last 20 years of the way we handled this process, do you feel like it's working or is working in your courtroom. >> it's working in my courtroom. >> judge wayne max reports treating truancy as a crime. >> you say you must go to school. i think you have to have truensies. as a society we have to have

accountability and norms for children to have everything they need to be successful in life. >> reporter: mack a justice of the peace outside of houston says he doesn't give children big fines and never sent any of them to gaol but believes the threat of facing a judge is important. >> it's a last resort. for our court it means that the school luke i said hased all the opportunities to correct the problem. now they are coming for me and we are going to drill down on the issue. >> do you see a problem with the fact that kids have gone to gaol? >> i would only see a been if anything was not done in everybody's power to prevent that from happening. but if somebody just chooses just to totally disregard what the law is then the law is the law. >> under the current law. gaol is a possibility for

christian if he continues the same path. his concerns now are more immediate. he is worried he'll have to repeat the ninth grade. >> i want to play basketball. one thing i like to do. some people make fun of me for not going to school. >> people his mother fears she'll get a summons in the mail, sometimes soon. >> i really don't know what i'm going to do. i don't know how to handle this. i don't know. i'm taking it day by day. >> christian is ticking it day by day. for -- taking it day by day. for now he's tallying up the good days when he's able to get to school. >> what do you see in your future? >> i'm not sure. i don't know what i see. i don't know, i'm not sure. >> reporter: what do you want from your future? >> success. i want success in my future

"america tonight"s lori jane gliha is here. looking at christian, and timing, these are not necessarily kids that don't want to go to school or want to cut class. >> ty's case complicated. started as a mistake, signing the papers with one name. >> ty. >> but his given name was on the role sheet, he's marked absent. but has been targetedy to class several -- tardy to class several times, and the teacher can get mad, and if you are past five minutes, you are marked absent. that's a problem. he took a couple of special classes and led to him being marked absence, sometimes it's not plain old skipping school. >> not just ditching. >> for the parents this is complicated, they want the kids in class, but has to deal with when this goes wrong, navigating through the court system. >> it's hard.

some parties are trying to get help. they want to make sure the kids get due process, and they are not entitled to an attorney. the kids and parents come in pleading guilty or no context, because that's the easiest thing to do. since this case and issue is prominent, some advocates stepped in. in the two cases, they have people helping out with their cases on their behalf. and christians case is offered community service in exchange for fines. that helped them out as this becomes a bigger issue. >> lawmakers are looking at this, giving this a second look. aren't they struck by the irony of this. these kids are not going to class, therefore they'll take them out of class, and send them to court or gaol. >> it's a little unusual. in ty and lamarr's case the father who is blind, tells us there's a rule where you have a

certain amount of time to get back to class. it's difficult for me because i used public transportation, i'm reliant on this. his son might miss class again or be late. >> that is the dilemma some are dealing with. this is why this is discussed. there's a bill discussed, and they are talking about an idea of decriminalizing truancy, but we are getting close to the end of the legislative session, it will be interesting to see in they'll come up to the house and the senate. they are interested in this. nothing has happened yet as far as definitive action. >> lori jane gliha thanks. >> thank you next - dialled in. how a child's desperate 911 call led to a disturbing disconnect and what is done to fix it later they call him mayor smoak. why his call to a halt to the war on drugs is getting a second look and hot on "america

tonight"s website now - a rape epidemic on campus. startling evidence of sex crimes at a new york college. find out more on aljazeera.com/americatonight.

in our fast toward segment - when a call for help doesn't connect. we teach kids to dial 911 in an emergency. as "america tonight" sara hoy

found - help is not always dialled in. >> reporter: kerry hunt agreed to meet her yes trapinged huss ba -- estranged husband at this hotel for a meeting. things went wrong. >> my eldest grand-daughter was in the room and tried dialling 911 and couldn't get out. she didn't know how to dial 9 first. at the hotel police say her husband stabbed her to death in the about bathroom. the children listened in. after four attempts, the 9-year-old shuffled her siblings to safety and ran to help. >> the neighbours next door to them opened the door and breanna told her what was going on she called 911. look in my grand-daughter's eye, i would never want another 9-year-old to go through it.

i don't know what she heard or saw, i haven't asked her - i'll let her tell me in her own time. i can imagine. no one should have to go through that - especially in front of you. >> reporter: hunt started a petition to pass a law requiring direct access. >> my 9-year-old grant daughter told me i tried, it wouldn't work, i felt guilty and i felt like it was - as adults it was our job to make sure it didn't happen. ests caught the attention of the commission, whose commissioner vowed to look into the matter. in a statement it was said: trey, with the national emergency number association dedicated to improving 911 services says the issue is more common than people may think. >> so for every day that goes

buy without federal legislation to resolve the problem, millions of americans in hotels college dormitories and office buildings are put at risk because they can't reach 911 effectively. >> updating systems to support direct access to 911 could potentially save lives he said. although they could never have kerry back the hunts are not giving up a fight for a new law. as far as justice is concerned. we'll let god sort that out, and right now i'm working on what i think we need to be working on. that's where i want to take it. that would be the justice for this to become long starned across the face fast-forward to a small victory from that horrible tragedy. the governor of texas recently signed a bill requiring direct 911 calling from multiphone systems - that means in hotels

and offices the caller will not have to dial 9 before reaching 911. it honours the memory of that young mother at the heart of this tragedy. it is called "kerrry's law." next baltimore's mayor and the latest crisis. why he called the end to the drug war, and what has been seen since? >> you can't really incarcerate your way out of addiction. it needs treatment. >> and on this memorial day weekend, a salute to veterans and the changes they face. that is friday on "america tonight". >> sunday... $38. thursday... $36. for this kind of money i really don't give a s**t.

>> a real look at the american dream. only on al jazeera america.

[beeping] ooo come on everybody, i think this is my grandson. [lip syncing] ♪little girl you look so lonesome oh my goodness. ♪i see you are feeling blue ♪come on over to my place ♪hey girl ♪we're having a party happy birthday, grandma! ♪we'll be swinging ♪dancing and singing ♪baby come on over tonight

. >> the unrest in baltimore began with the arrest of freddie gray while in custody exposed simmering anger. city leaders began to grapple with the specifics in this case. a grand jury indicted the six officers. baltimore is trying to understand how the history figures into the crisis and a glaring flashpoint emerged, a decades flashpoint on drugs adam may sits with the leader of the

city. how do you think the war on drugs affects inner cities like baltimore? >> i think the way in which the county conducted the wore on drugs has done more -- war on drugs has done more damage. >> kurt is a 3-time mayor of baltimore at the height of the drug war in the 1990s. in office he was known tore a radical idea. decriminalize drugs. at the trial it was a stance shared by very few american politicians. >> i do agree with lifting drug proibation always. >> i hope that eventually that we end the prohibition but it has to be done carefully. the number of people arrested for drug possession increased 80% between 1990 and 2010, peaking at 1.8 arrests in 2006.

during the same period of baltimore, like many urban cities saw violence sky rocket. the mayor said the end result has been abandoned buildings, inner city poverty and widespread unemployment. >> when you call for decalisation, how did you think that would help a neighbourhood and families. >> i hope that decriminalization, sometimes referred to as medical location would help the communities, it would begin to look at addicts as people that needed treatment that are than needed incarceration. >> how would you end the war on drugs? >> i would begin with a real commitment to drug treatment. to send the signal that we are going to treat addicts as patients to be cured, not criminals to be incarcerated.

smoke sees the link between the war on drugs and the violence that engulfs baltimore last month. riots broke out, damaging hundreds of businesses. after a low level drug forehand freddie gray died in police custody. for decades officers have aggressively controlled the neighbourhood. cracking down on street level drug activity. >> i'm blind, walking through the store. i've been stopped, searches. long time residents tell "america tonight" they have faced years of stop and frisk by police. if incident. the pad downs faced pat downs. >> from me being here from the beginning. it's only been harassment from these officers.

>> you add not only the contact between police and folks on the street. add to that a zero tolerance policy. what it does is causes more tension, more aggressive interaction between police and the community. so bottom line. what you see is tensions growing up. and you get an explosion. whether it happens in baltimore or other city that is the problem with the zero tolerance policy. we are seeing states criminalized. are we headed in the right disebz. -- direction. >> i think we are moving slowly. that is shared by an unlikely group. >> you and i are selling drugs. this is the corner.

as we stand here we'll watch for cars we let them know they watch something. we may hold up a couple of fingers. >> neil, calling for an end to drug prohibition. >> if we end the war on drugs. a number of things will happen. violent crime will drop because you no longer have feuding gangs or crews trying to corner the drug-selling market. so what happens when violent crime begins to decline. you can then encourage businesses to come back into the community and set up shop. and with that comes jobs. >> did you think about these issues when you were on the streets as a cop. in law enforcement you don't stop to do research. regarding the arrests and the

drug, not once stopping to thing that - isn't that kind of impossible. >> i think a lot of people can envision the effect of decriminalizing marijuana. if we talk about drugs that are more addictive, like heroin and crack. bottom line for me is i said that we ought to look at a set drug policy based on science, so drugs that cause more harm should be treated in a different way than those that cause less harm but, you know here we have a situation in our country where the centers for disease control over and over and over reports that there are more people killed because of smoking tobacco than die from smoking marijuana. and yet tobacco is legal, marijuana is illegal. on science, on policy that doesn't make sense. the only thing, the only way to

justify it is on politics. >> despite mounting research on the social destruction caused by the war on drugs, there is little political will in washington to make major changes. until that happens, the mayor sees a never ending cycle, devastating inner city neighbourhoods with the potential for unrest in baltimore and beyond. that's "america tonight", tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to us on twitter or facebook, come back we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow.

i'm "ali velshi on target". the harsh reality of the american dream. middle class families plagued by small paychecks and broken politics. dangerous waters naval war games with two of america's biggest rivals - russia and china stuck in the middle. america's middle class continues to struggle the as inequality grows and income erodes. the net worth of america's middle incom