There’s a movement underway to eliminate sentences of Life without the Possibility of Parole.
This week the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from high profile and well funded groups such as the ACLU and others that are seeking to eliminate convicted murderers from serving the sentence handed down to them, mainly “life in prison without the possibility of parole.” The matter currently before and being considered by the Supreme Court Justice’s pertains to convicted murderers that were under the age of 18 at the time they committed the most heinous of all crimes- -murder.
The court also heard from lesser known and under or no-funded organizations representing the survivors of the victims of those murderers who have already had much more than their day in court. One such group, National Organization of Juvenile Lifers (NOVJL) comprised of victim survivors made the trip to Washington, D.C. to speak on behalf of their murdered loved ones, many of them making doing so at their own expense. The fact that they even had to make such a trip or that the matter is even being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court is an egregious miscarriage of justice. Let me explain why I feel the way I do;
First and foremost at least to me as a parent of a son that was murdered by a teen that was under the age of 18 at the time, a teen that was found unfit to be tried as a juvenile and was instead tried as an adult every consideration and constitutional right was afforded him. My son’s mother, sister, grandmother and me attended every hearing, legal proceeding from the juvenile court through the trial in the California Superior Court from the time of his murder in 1993 until the sentencing in 1995, nearly two years. Great care was made to protect the constitutional rights of the young man that took our son’s life and he was found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of his peers, which I agree with as an American. In the case of our son’s murderer, even though he was tried as an adult and sentenced to 30 years to life he will (this year) be eligible for a parole consideration hearing, nineteen years after he committed the most heinous of all crimes- - murder.
One might wonder why I am concerned with the movements taking place throughout America and the hearings before the U.S. Supreme Court since in the case of our son’s murderer he was not sentenced, nor could he be, to Life without the possibility of parole or LWOP as it is generally known as. Primarily, I feel the way I do because I strongly believe any person that coldly, calculatingly and brutally takes the life of another person doesn’t deserve a second chance at freedom. The only way I would be willing to change my mind is if somehow it could be possible for our son to have a second chance at life. But we all know that can’t and won’t happen.
If the U.S. Supreme Court decides that LWOP (life without the possibility of parole) sentences violate the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution that say that “Excessive Bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted,” not only will that be the wrong decision it will have that same effect being inflicted on the survivors of the murder victims, they will be re-victimized. In order to emphasize my point that victims will be re-victimized Sacramento County, California elected District Attorney Jan Scully recently wrote to the California Senate Public Safety Committee concerning SB9 that is currently on its way to passage in that state, a bill that will prevent any juvenile under the age of 18 from being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. “Most teen killers in California are tried in the juvenile court system, which is where most deserve to be tried. “Some are tried in adult court given the nature of their offenses. “And a few 16 and 17-year olds commit murder with special circumstances. “In short, the system, as it currently exists, is fair to the accused and the victim. “By giving convicted murderers a get-out-of-jail free card, policymakers will unnecessarily unleash a host of unintended consequences upon the citizens of California, re-victimize family members, levy an invisible tax on the tax payers given the additional costs associated with resentencing and release and spring onto the streets violent thugs who were properly sentenced the first time.”
In a 2009 study conducted by the Heritage Foundation on the issue of juvenile LWOP, entitles Adult Time for Adult Crimes: Life without Parole for Juvenile Killers and Violent Teens, it was noted, “we demonstrated that juvenile sentencing is under siege by opponents of tough sentences. “Though representing relatively few, these groups are highly organized, well funded, and passionate about their cause. “Throughout their studies, lobbying efforts and media efforts this small but well-funded group of radicals have manufactured statistics about the scope of the problem, ignored the fact that the United States has a demonstrable juvenile crime problem, that LWOP for juvenile killers has been held constitutional by every state and federal court that has decided the issue and that the United States has no international law obligation to ban teen LWOP.
Sadly, there are elected officials and powerful organizations that don’t agree with LWOP sentences handed down to convicted teen murderers that have received the constitutional protections in the criminal justice process. They look upon these murderers as the victims of an unjust criminal justice system. If they are successful in their efforts to overturn the process and give the murderers a second chance at freedom as a father of a murdered son I can only hope they will sponsor legislation or a ballot initiative that will make it mandatory that for any of those murderers given a second chance be moved next door to their home or in their neighborhood. Then if or when one of their loved ones are murdered I think they will have a different opinion on the plight of juvenile murderers.
