California Criminal Defense Blog

No more life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders convicted of nonhomicide crimes. So says the Supreme Court.

Such a punishment contravenes the evolving standards of decency through which we evaluate the Eighth Amendment. Such a punishment leaves no room for redemption.

Here is part of what Justice Kennedy wrote for the majority in Graham v. Florida:

The juvenile should not be deprived of the opportunity to achieve maturity of judgment and self-recognition of human worth and potential…Life in prison without the possibility of parole gives no chance for fulfillment outside prison walls, no chance for reconciliation with society, no hope.

The Court’s message is gratifying, especially for those of us in California (one of the eleven states that have imposed this kind of sentence) who face significant challenges presented by a tough-on-crime justice system and correspondingly overburdened prison system.

Perhaps the Court’s message will reverberate. Perhaps our justice system and correctional system can mature as well...and fulfill their potential.

Perhaps there’s room for redemption.

Perhaps the most relatively recent controversial product of the often criticized California felony-murder rule is Brandon Hein. Brandon Hein, then 17, was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the 1995 stabbing of another teenager. The case received much publicity based on the application of the felony-murder rule.

California’s felony-murder rule holds a defendant liable for murder if he or an accomplice kills another person during the commission of (1) specifically listed felonies, or (2) “inherently dangerous” felonies. Hein’s case involved an alleged robbery, which is one of the specifically listed felonies that triggers this rule.

Hein and the other teens charged in connection with the murder claimed that they went to a house to buy marijuana when a fist fight erupted. The fight ended when the victim (the 15-year old son of a Los Angeles Police Department veteran) was stabbed in the chest by one of the teens.

Prosecutors painted a different picture, saying that the boys went to the house to steal the marijuana. Because of California’s felony-murder rule, all of the teens involved in the fight were convicted as if each of them personally stabbed the victim. This was despite the fact that all of them denied even knowing that the individual who stabbed the victim did so…or, for that matter, that he even had a weapon.

The San Bernardino County juvenile court system has relatively few options for where to place minors who are deemed to need detention time. Most are ordered to spend time in the San Bernardino Central Juvenile Hall or the West Valley Juvenile Hall. Serious offenders get transferred to the California Youth Authority (CYA)—essentially a state-run prison for minors.

Los Angeles County, by contrast, operates a series of “camps” for young offenders that function as a middle ground between the halls and CYA. Minors get ordered to camp for 3 months to a year. Counseling, schooling, drug rehab and even career-training are provided. The purpose of the camps is entirely rehabilitative…to take the minor away from problems in the home and on the street, and try to instill in him or her purpose and responsibility.

Continue reading "San Bernardino Lacks a Camp System for Juvenile Offenders" »