bartolotta: you're not allowed to vote until you're 18. you're 21, but a young person who commits crimes they should have known better. william: republican state senator camera bartolotta co-chairs the criminal justice reform caucus in the pennsylvania legislature. in may, she introduced a bill that would end direct file in the state. sen. bartolotta: one of the worst things that happens when anyone has been incarcerated, especially a young person they , will face an uphill battle for years and years to come. william: ending direct file was one of more than 30 recommendations made by a bipartisan juvenile justice task force last year. one of its key findings was the large racial disparities in which youth are charged as adults. black male youths make up 7 percent of the state's youth population, but account for 56 percent of minors convicted as adults. the taskforce also detailed how kids who are charged as adults are more likely to reoffend, compared to those kept within the juvenile system. sen. bartolotta: we're doing the opposite of wh