After the SCOTUS decision that juveniles can't have mandatory sentenced to life w/o parole,

[marym625]

A judge in Chicago re-sentences a man that was sentenced to life in prison w/p the possibility of parole at the age of 14, to life in prison without the possibility of parole!

What the holy fuck!

Judge resentences Adolfo Davis to natural life in prison

Davis was convicted of life without the possibility of parole when he was 14-years-old. Today was resentenced and got handed another life sentence.

Judge Angela Petrone discredited all of the defense’s witnesses and handed down the harshest possible sentence.

Tomorrow morning Davis will be on his way back to Statesville where he’s been for decades.

Davis’ relatives and supporters were in disbelief.

http://wgntv.com/2015/05/04/adolfo-davis-sentenced-to-life-as-juvenile-faces-resentencing-monday/

Absolutely sickening!

[warrant46]

1. Only killed 2 people

From the article:

But Judge Petrone believed the prosecution’s case that Davis was a shooter in this double murder and deserved the life sentence he originally got.

Too bad for him

[marym625]

2. Too bad for him?

This is atrocious

[guillaumeb]

3. He was 14. A child.

I do not care if he was 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, scary looking, carrying a gun, whatever, he was a 14 year old child. Sounds like the Judge did not read the SCOTUS decision.

[marym625]

4. horrible horrible sentence, both times

What exactly did anyone expect he would do while in prison with no chance of getting out at 14 years old?

She should be removed from the bench, minimally

[REP]

5. Maybe stop killing

Its too bad he threw his own life away when he decided to kill two other people, but I don't have a problem with him being where he is.

[marym625]

6. Are you serious?

You do realize that he was 14 years old, right?

You do realize that we are the only "civilized" country in the world that sentences children to life in prison without the possibility of parole, right?

You do know that SCOTUS has found that mandatory sentencing of children to life in prison without the possibility of parole as cruel and unusual punishment and against the Constitution, right?

You do realize that the human brain does not fully mature until the age of about 25, right?

This is horrible and should be unconstitutional

[SickOfTheOnePct]

9. Horrible yes

Unconstitutional, no

[marym625]

11. corrected

Thank you

[REP]

17. And?

Richard Grissom beat an 80-year old woman to death with a railroad spike when he was 16. He spent a few years in prison, and when he was released, murdered at least four other women.

Ed Kemper murdered his grandparents when he was 15. After spending a few years in prison, he went on to murder eight more times.

These are just two famous examples; there are others much less well known. No problem with locking them up.

[okaawhatever]

18. The problem we have is the all or nothing system for juveniles. A prosecutor can try them as a

juvenile where they will get out when they're 18 or 21 or life sentence. We also don't have a way of dealing with sociopaths (as in your examples). The human brain isn't fully formed until age 19 which is why there's more lenient sentencing for juveniles. We need something that will allow the judges to take into consideration if the individual is diagnosed sociopathic before relase. Or at a minimum allow a juvenile to spend 10 or 15 years behind bars.

[marym625]

19. Yeah, let's go with extremes

And forget about the majority that don't murder. And dog forbid we should work on rehabilitation.

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/10026374837

I am shocked

[REP]

25. With rare exceptions, I favor "one and done" for murder at any age

You can give them cuddles and wuvvies. Keep them the fuck away from others while you do it.

[marym625]

29. unbelievable

So studies, age, rehabilitation, programs that work, cruel and unusual punishment, the fact we are the only country that does this, Amnesty International, the UN and other human rights groups condemning it mean nothing to you. That speaks volumes about your thought process, lack of understanding and compassion.

Let's just start at age 5 and throw them away when they hit another kid. Once they hit, they'll always hit. Just get them out of society

[Fred Sanders]

21. The problem with your viewpoint is it diminishes the legal concept of reduced moral culpability

for juveniles based on well established scientific and social measurements for the age-defined group, hence why they are called "juvenile".

[REP]

23. Brian Lord

Shot his friend's mother in the back when he was 13. Did six months.

Then raped and beat to death a 16-year old girl.

[Fred Sanders]

48. Now two problems with your viewpoint, the second one being using individual cases without context to

make a general argument for a general legal policy.....which is even worse than the first viewpoint problem.

[marym625]

26. Thank you, Fred

I am grateful for the people here that understand why this is wrong

I can't fathom anyone wanting a child thrown away for the rest of their lives

[LeftyMom]

33. I've got a 14 year old. He makes weird decisions. He sometimes seems surprised by consequences.

His social skills are seriously hit-or-miss, especially when he's stressed or hungry or overtired, and lately he's always hungry or tired because he's growing.

But he's entirely clear that death is forever and that violence isn't a solution.

Their brains are developing, but they're not toddlers.

[marym625]

34. so?

Does that mean that rehabilitation, which has been proven to work, should not be an option? That we should just throw kids away?

Have you read the facts in this case? He wasn't even the shooter

Have you read the studies,? Have you seen the results that other countries have? Have you seen we are the only country that is this cruel? Or does none of that matter to you?

[LeftyMom]

35. I have a lot of experience working with at-risk teenagers.

I'm quite familiar with the literature. Thanks for asking.

[marym625]

36. and yet you still advocate for throwing this person

And kids away

Just horrible

[marym625]

8. Did I somehow post on a right wing site?

[guillaumeb]

15. I hope not for both of our sakes.

Whatever happened to rehabilitation? Are we to believe that a 14 year old is/was mature enough to act with full awareness? Are we to believe that a 14 year old can never progress past the 14 year old emotional state?

I was an idiot at 14. I hope I have progressed a little since then, but this judge, by sentencing a 14 year old to life w/o parole, is saying that he cannot change. Speaking about the judge, what a horrible world view she must have.

[marym625]

20. I posted about this before

There are many links to good studies on this post and some of the replies

I can't even believe some of the responses here

I am nothing like I was at 14. Who is?

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/10026374837

[Judi Lynn]

43. I can see how you'd feel. This is a site created for democrats, progressives, liberals.

Every Democrat I've ever known personally was clearly more thoughtful, more mature, had more awareness than some of the answers which attached themselves to your thread.

The answer is NOT self-centered, self-concerned, infantile, no matter how many years this country will be subjected to right-wing domination. The whole country is going to overcome, we can all count on it. We were not destined to be controlled by sociopaths.

[center]

Judge Petrone[/center]

[marym625]

45. Well said

Thank you. You and a couple others here give me hope. The replies that are so dismissive of the cruelty perpetrating against children are disheartening, to say the least

[MADem]

39. Well, a "child" of that same age brutally and heinously murdered a teacher

in MA and raped her corpse. Then he stole her money and credit cards, got himself a little something to eat, and went to the movies.

Then, under heavy guard in a juvenile medical facility while awaiting trial, he attacked one of his caretakers and tried to strangle her.

I think "natural life" works for that kid, no matter what his age.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

7. There is no such ruling

The ruling was that there can't be mandatory life without parole for juveniles. Judges still have the discretion to sentence juveniles to life without parole.

I think it's wrong to do so, bit nothing prohibits it.

[marym625]

10. Thank you for the clarification

I did read that incorrectly

I am still absolutely flabbergasted. Unbelievable.

[marym625]

13. What is this

[PeaceNikki]

14. Bot or spam. I alerted on it. If it's hidden it'll be auto banned.

[marym625]

16. Thanks

Just googled it and saw it's spam

[WillyT]

22. Yep... When We Are Afraid For Our Live... Justice Flees Too...

[marym625]

24. It is making my heart sick

Thank you, my friend

[WillyT]

28. Mine Too... And Thank You !!!

[marym625]

31. .

[Downwinder]

27. A little background.

http://www.youthlaw.org/publications/yln/2012/apr_jun_2012/sentenced_to_life_for_a_crime_committed_at_age_14_adolfo_davis_seeks_clemency/

Adolfo was not a shooter. He was part of the group, just as all of the Baltimore Police were part of the group.

If a fourteen year old can be tried as an adult, then all fourteen year olds should be allowed to vote.

[marym625]

30. Thank you Downwinder.

Some of these responses are just outrageous

Yeah, even an 18 year old can't drink because they aren't supposed to be able to have the judgment of an adult. But let's send them to war.

I can't believe this can still happen in this country

[Downwinder]

32. Apply it in NY.

Not only the officer with the choke hold on Eric Garner should be prosecuted but all of the officers on the scene should face the same charge.

[marym625]

40. exactly

But hey, not one of them did any time. Not even charged

Horror

[Judi Lynn]

42. Your article throws even more light on the subject. Extraordinary.

Thanks for supplying more information, and for making a valuable point.

[Downwinder]

46. If a Judge is used to fourteen being adult,

what will happen when a fifteen complains of rape (we saw that out west)?

Put another way: If 14 is adult, why is 15 statutory?

[NaturalHigh]

37. The key word here, Mary, is "mandatory."

Juvenile offenders are still eligible for LWOP sentences for murder. They just can't be imposed automatically.

[marym625]

38. I understand that

And it is wrong. Period. This particular story, the sentence should have been reduced. It's horrific

Downwinder posted more background on this thread. He wasn't even the shooter

We are the only country that does this in the "civilized" world. That ought to tell us something. Especially when other countries do so well rehabilitating kids

[NaturalHigh]

47. I agree that it should be rare, Mary...

but the sentence should still be an option. Some people never change, no matter what we do to intervene or rehabilitate. Trust me on this, I know. I often see the same former students over and over again in the paper. One of them is a convicted rapist and recently assaulted a police officer.

Some people are just bad and need to be locked up away from decent people. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

I'm curious - and I'm not being snarky here - what sentence do you think is appropriate for someone who commits murder at 14? Not manslaughter or anything in the heat of the moment but actual premeditated murder.

[marym625]

49. No, they should not be an option

How is it that no other country needs this as an option but we do? How is it that other countries actually rehabilitate children that committed violent crimes, including murder but we don't even try?

This is barbaric. Nothing but barbaric.

[NaturalHigh]

50. "How is it that other countries actually rehabilitate children"...

That's an entirely different conversation, and one worth having. For now, though, I truly believe that LWOP should remain an option for the few who show no signs of potential rehabilitation.

[marym625]

51. and for 14 year old son that they couldn't even prove fired a weapon?

Just throw him away.

It's the same conversation

[NaturalHigh]

52. What was his original sentence?

In my opinion, adjudication until the age of 21 is simply not adequate.

[marym625]

53. The original sentence was life w/o the possibility of parole

Considering there was no proof he was a shooter, or that his gun even discharged, I don't know that I agree. But to the age 25 should have been enough.

There was a person in my life that, when a teenager, was with a gang of kids that mugged a man and ended up killing him. It was a robbery gone bad.

This person, under the age of 18, turned states evidence and received no jail time in return. He grew to be a great person, thoughtful and caring, never committed another crime and served his country

I'm not advocating no punishment. But to just throw kids away is barbaric, horrific and just plain wrong

[Judi Lynn]

41. Imprisoned at 14, Illinois inmate gets resentenced to life without parole

Imprisoned at 14, Illinois inmate gets resentenced to life without parole

After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down life without parole for child convicts, Adolfo Davis hoped for a second chance

May 4, 2015 5:20PM ET
by Ranjani Chakraborty - @ranjchak

After almost a quarter century in prison, Adolfo Davis will not go free.

In a blistering ruling Monday, Cook County Judge Angela Petrone resentenced the Illinois prisoner to natural life in prison without chance of parole. He was first ordered to life in prison without parole when he was just 14 years old and convicted as an accomplice to a gang-related double murder in 1990. It was never proven that he fired his gun.

His landmark case has been closely watched all over the country, putting the issue of juvenile justice reform in the spotlight. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court found that sentencing children to life without parole was cruel and unusual punishment, allowing states to decide whether to apply that retroactively to cases like Davis’.

In 2014, after taking a look at Davis’ case, the Illinois Supreme Court granted new sentencing hearings for dozens of inmates serving life without parole for crimes committed as a child. The Illinois ruling meant that after more than two decades of thinking he would die in prison, Davis would get a second chance.

~ snip ~

Juvenile life without parole is banned in the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified by every country in the world except three: Somalia, South Sudan and the United States. In Somalia and South Sudan, there are no known cases of people serving a life without parole sentence for a crime committed as a minor. In the U.S., there were around 2,500 as of 2008, according to a Human Rights Watch tally.

More:
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/articles/2015/5/4/adolfo-davis-life-parole.html

[marym625]

44. Thank you Judi Lynn

I can't imagine how he felt with the sudden hope then having that robbed from him.

Sentencing a child to a life in prison is inhumane