A new report from Human Rights Watch found that Black youths in New Jersey were 19 times more likely to be prosecuted as adults than white youths, and Latino youths almost four times as often.

The report — titled “Kids You Throw Away: New Jersey’s Indiscriminate Prosecution of Children as Adults” — described how county prosecutors play a pivotal role in determining whether a child accused of a serious crime will get tried as an adult or a juvenile. The decision is referred to as a “waiver,” and it can result in dramatically different sentences and treatment for the defendant, the report said.

NJ Spotlight News interviewed Amanda Leavell, the report’s author with the human rights organization.

“The population of Black youth in New Jersey is about 15%, yet they account for a staggering… 62% of those that are waived to the adult system,” she said.

“It’s such a severe and consequential decision for a child,” Leavell continued. “We liken it to throwing away the life of a child… because the consequences are lifelong. Once a child is prosecuted as an adult, they are seen in all aspects as an adult by the courts and by society.”

In New Jersey, the decision is made by prosecutors alone, with judges only empowered to intervene in cases where they find an abuse of that discretion. Because prosecutors vary by county and operate relatively autonomously, the process also subjects youth to vastly different outcomes depending on the county where his or her case is heard.