'Justice for' Demarious Banyard

LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR A CRIME HE DID NOT COMMIT AT AGE 13.

DEMARIOUS BANYARD WAS WRONGLY CONVICTED OF CAPITAL MURDER FOR A CRIME HE DID NOT COMMIT AT THE AGE OF 13. HE IS CURRENTLY SERVING A LIFE SENTENCE WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.

(Below written by EJI on March 30, 2010)

http://eji.org/eji/node/379

The Mississippi Supreme Court granted review to determine whether it is unconstitutional to sentence a 13-year-old child to life in prison without possibility of parole, and to address claims that Demarious Banyard's conviction was tainted by racial bias and illegal jury instructions. EJI represents Demarious and, in December, EJI attorneys asked the state's highest court to review the case, which raises serious constitutional questions about the reliability of Demarious's conviction and sentence.

(Below written by EJI on March, 15, 2010)

http://eji.org/eji/node/373

EJI (Equal Justice Initiative) Challenges 13-Year-Old Mississippi Child's Conviction and Sentence to Die in Prison

EJI is seeking to overturn the conviction and sentence of life imprisonment without parole imposed on 13-year-old Demarious Banyard through an appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court. EJI argues that Demarious's trial was infected by racial bias and illegal jury instructions that required him to prove his innocence, and that his mandatory sentence to die in prison is unconstitutional.

Thirteen-year-old Demarious was playing basketball at the Jackson, Mississippi, apartment complex where he lived with his mother and sisters when 19-year-old Dennis Ragsdale confronted him, put a gun into his hand, and walked him over to the car of a pizza delivery man who Ragsdale intended to rob. When the driver did not give over money as Ragsdale demanded, Demarious handed the gun back to Ragsdale and it went off, fatally shooting the driver.

Demarious was convicted in adult court and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Because the sentence was mandatory, the judge could not consider Demarious's extremely young age, hear any mitigating evidence about his background, or consider that Dennis Ragsdale – an adult who had beaten Demarious –instigated the offense, forced Demarious to participate, and nonetheless was sentenced to a parole-eligible term.

Demarious is the only 13-year-old in Mississippi sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, and only eight other people in the world are condemned to die in prison for a crime at age 13. All but one of the nine 13-year-olds are children of color.

One of the nine is Joe Sullivan, an EJI client whose case challenging life-without-parole sentences imposed on young teens is pending before the United States Supreme Court.

EJI lawyers have asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to review Demarious's conviction, which was tainted by racial bias and illegal jury instructions. During jury selection for his trial, the State insisted, and the judge agreed, that a certain number of white people remain on the jury.

• http://eji.org/eji/node/379
• http://eji.org/eji/node/373
• http://www.clarionledger.com/article/201...
• http://www.myspace.com/justicefordemarious
• https://www.naacpldf.org/content/pdf/JLW...

Davontae Sanford’s innocence v Detroit police and prosecutors’ reputations

http://t.co/ZHkGvZg

  by Susan Chandler

Self-proclaimed “hit man” Vincent Smothers authorized his attorney to testify on Davontae Sanford’s behalf, to apprise the courts that Smothers and an accomplice had committed Detroit’s infamous Runyon Street quadruple homicide, not Davontae.
Smothers had admitted to twelve homicides, but was only prosecuted for eight, so that Detroit police and prosecutors could hide their having coerced a confession out of blind-in-one-eye, developmentally disabled, 14-year-old Davontae.
The judge wouldn’t allow Smother’s attorney to testify. 
From: Susan Chandler
Date: July 11, 2011 7:33:34 PM EDT
To: Bill Schuette
Cc: ASKDOJ
Subject: False imprisonment of Davontae Sanford – Citizen Inquiry AG# 2010-0026914
The Honorable Bill Schuette, Attorney General
State of Michigan
G. Mennen Williams Building, 7th Floor
Lansing, MI 48909
Dear Attorney General Schuette:
I am writing again to ask that you personally intervene in the ongoing persecution of Davontae Sanford.
Allowing a judge to ignore a client-authorized exception to attorney/client privilege does not serve justice; it instead furthers a four-year fraud on Michigan taxpayers.
I also ask you to personally intervene in Governor Rick Snyder’s lawlessness.  For all you know, you may be the next elected public servant whom Snyder deems too inefficient to retain elected office.
After it, it is fiscally irresponsible to incarcerate innocent young Davontae Sandford while guilty, self-proclaimed “hit man” Vincent Smothers is already behind bars and has named an accomplice who remains free to commit additional homicides.
Sincerely,
Susan Chandler
Judge in Davontae Sanford hearings bars testimony from hit man’s former lawyer – Detroit Crime | Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-detroit/judge-davontae-sanford-hearings-bars-testimony-from-hit-man-s-former-lawyer
Michigan’s Governor May Be Worse Than Walker
http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/michigans-governor-may-be-worse-walker
From: Susan Chandler
Date: January 6, 2011 2:26:50 PM EST
To: Bill Schuette
Subject: False imprisonment of Davontae Sanford
Dear Attorney General Schuette:
Doubtless you are besieged by requests for assistance.  I can only hope that you anticipated that you would be and were prepared to hit the ground running.
Were you to search incoming emails to the Attorney General’s office, you would find my requests were ignored, and bear repeating:
Out of curiosity, 14-year-old Davontae Sanford approached police officers at a crime scene, in his pajamas.  That naïve act cost him his freedom.
Blind in one eye and developmentally disabled, Davontae was the unlikeliest of suspects for a quadruple homicide.  Just as mentally challenged Eddie Joe Lloyd had been tricked into confessing to a 1984 Detroit homicide, Davontae was tricked into confessing.  Although accused decades apart, the two shared a an embittered and ineffectual attorney, and both were convicted.
Mr. Lloyd was not exonerated until he had spent 17 years in prison.  He died shortly afterwards; harsh prison conditions had ruined his health (link below).
That should not be Davontae Sanford’s fate.  The facts are much clearer in his case.
Self-proclaimed “hit man” Vincent Smothers credibly confessed to the same crimes, along with eight others.  While Smothers is serving time for the eight homicides selected by Wayne County prosecutors to spare Detroit Police embarrassment, the other killer – whom Smothers named – walks free to make Detroit’s streets bloodier.
Davontae’s family believes that their prayers will free him.  I believe that if you are anything like your predecessor, Davontae doesn’t have a prayer, at least not for the next four years.  Please cut through Wayne County and Detroit politics to free Davontae and make sure that – on your watch – every civil servant fears framing innocents just to please the press.
Additionally, A. G. Cox did nothing to make sure that rape kit backlogs were rapidly cleared, the likeliest reason that the perpetrator has not been found for the homicide that Mr. Lloyd was framed for.
While it is important that invasive fish species do not enter the Great Lakes, it is my hope that you can multi-task and ethically address the corruption that keeps Davontae Sanford incarcerated and make sure that all crime scene forensic evidence is rapidly and accurately processed so that the real perpetrators can be found the first time, with no stand-ins.  There is no time to waste, Davontae has been transferred to an adult facility, and has few defenses to survive there.
Thank you for your time, I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Susan Chandler
http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Eddie_Joe_Lloyd.php

Support 2nd chance Law for Juveniles Be A Voice For The Voiceless

Cyntoia Brown

Sara Kruzan

Krista McDaniel

Demarious Banyard

 

Joshua David Weir

Paul Henry Gingerich

Cristian Fernandez

 

Blade Reed

Zachary Neagle

Christopher Thrasher




TOREY ADAMCIK



Jordan Brown

Davontae Sanford

http://support2ndchancelawforjuveniles.blogspot.com/2011/07.
http://freedavontaesanford-irishgreeneyes.blogspot.com/?spr.
http://cyntoiabrown-irishgreeneyes.blogspot.com/?spref=tw
http://support2ndchance.blogspot.com/?spref=tw
http://joshuadavidweir-irishgreeneyes.blogspot.com/?spref=tw

http://www.freesarakruzan.org/

http://believing-in-blade.org
http://www.whoopassforjustice.org
 http://justicewinds.blogspot.com



--

Davontae Sanford was wrongly convicted.

 Wrongly imprisoned since he was 14, Davontae Sanford, now 18,

Davontae Sanford was wrongly convicted. He is innocent! Join the effort to get the truth out and free him.

http://freedavontaesanford-irishgreeneyes.blogspot.com/2011.

Davontae Sanford-684070
Thumb Correctional Facility
3225 John Conley Dr.
Lapeer, MI 48446

Judge in Davontae Sanford hearings bars testimony from hit man's former lawyer

Robert Brignall

, Detroit Crime Examiner
http://shar.es/Hxp5x

In a conference in Wayne Circuit Court Judge Brian Sullivan's chambers Thursday, the judge informed Kim McGinnis, Davontae Sanford's lawyer, that he would not allow testimony from Gabi Silver, former attorney for imprisoned hit man Vincent Smothers, about conversations Silver had with Smothers about the killing of four people in a dope house on Runyon St.
The ruling is a setback for McGinnis, who wants the judge to set aside Sanford's guilty plea to the four murders and award him a new trial. McGinnis contends that the guilty plea was based on a bogus confession Sanford made merely to please the police officers. Sanford is developmentally disabled, and was only 14 at the time of the confession.
Self-professed hit man Vincent Smothers was twice that age when he told police and others that he had done the Runyon St murders. He is now in prison for eight other contract killings

Smothers is not willing to testify in the Sanford hearings, but has waived the attorney-client privilege as to conversations he had with his former attorney, and is willing to allow Gabi Silver to testify before Judge Sullivan. Smothers undoubtedly told Silver he had killed the four on Runyon street and that Sanford had no part in it.
Though there may no longer be a prosecutor on Kym Worthy's staff who actually believes Sanford killed those four people, they are fighting McGinnis' efforts at every turn. They had opposed Silver's testifying and should be pleased at Judge Sullivan's ruling. McGinnis is not and plans to appeal it.
Because the judge's order is not a final judgment, McGinnis will have to petition the Court of Appeals for leave (permission) to appeal. Meanwhile, proceedings in Judge Sullivan's court will continue, unless someone gets an order staying proceedings.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Judge in Davontae Sanford hearings bars testimony from hit man's former lawyer - Detroit Crime | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-detroit/judge-davontae-sanford-hearings-bars-testimony-from-hit-man-s-former-lawyer#ixzz1RdPxa1Ve

ATTENTION:

 

Any individual or person who believes to be aggrieved or harmed by the NY State Court system please contact me at the address below if interested in pursuing a class action lawsuit and / or other action against the State of New York. It is the position of this group that New York state operates a constitutionally deficient ...and defective court system in many ways including denying fundamental rights of contact and visitation with minor children to Parents, either mother or father, while convicted felons/abusers in the state prison system have rights of contact and visitation with children. If you believe you are aggrieved by the Court system, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Appellate Division Discipline Committees, Law Guardians and/or have been forced to endure improper Supervised Visitation programs or related problems in the NY Court system please come forward and let your voice be heard. joinusnow1960@hotmail.com

Lost Children

 
Imagine if you will a cave

Darkness damp and cold

Eyes that once so brightly shone

Now dead eyes, dull and old

Look further in this strange black world

See it's occupants abode

A prison cell with Iron bars

Inside a child it holds

Now look a little closer

Within this desolation state

A spirit once that had a light

Pours out bitterness and hate

In a world of poverty and lonliness

The streets don't love you back

So in defense of hungering

A child will attack

Form alliance with the enemy

The street gangs, pimps and thugs

When asked why they went that way?

The Lost child simply shrugs

How are we to understand

We are but to try to fix

Advocates for Abandoned Adolescents say

The unfair balance needs to shift
@ Delaproser

Blade Reed - Fighting for Humane Treatment

BLADE REED
JUVENILE DEFENDANT




STEVE SYDEBOTHAM
ADVOCATE OF BLADE REED

In old days there were angels who came and took men by the hand and led them away from the city of destruction. We see no white-winged angels now. But yet men are led away from threatening destruction: a hand is put into theirs, which leads them forth gently towards a calm and bright land, so that they look no more backward; and the hand may be a little child's.

This petition is created in support of age and developmentally appropriate humane treatment of 14 year old, Blade Reed, currently housed in the adult maximum security prison, Wabash Correctional Facility, (Carlisle) Indiana.Last December, after pleaing guilty to robbery resulting in severe bodily injury, Blade was sentenced, as an adult, to serve 30 years with violent offenders and sexual predators. It is important to note that Blade is the youngest inmate at Wabash, also almost immediately after the crime, Blade accepted responsibility and displayed extreme remorse for his actions on that fateful day and has continued to do so, ever since. As fellow United States citizens, it has come to our attention that Blade Reed has been issued to serve an entire year in disciplinary solitary confinement after having been involved in three known altercations in the adult prison of which this 14 year old child has been placed. To our knowledge, this means Blade will be expected to survive being locked in solitary confinement with no other human interaction inside a small cell for 23 hours every day for one whole year or more. Under Indiana law, each inmate forced into disciplinary solitary confinement, is released for only one hour per day of which during that hour he will need to shower and minimally exercise. It is unclear, at this point, the conditions of this child's education. Also,there is no guarantee that this one hour will be granted, each day, as a provision exists its implimentation is dependant upon the security status of the overall facility.Exasperating this child's plight is the liklihood this child suffers from undiagnosed mental disabilities. After reviewing court documentation from the court appointed psychologist's evaluation of Blade and from further consultation, it is expert opinion that Blade Reed may suffer from "Asperger's Syndrome (a form or autism) and/or Bipolar Disorder" and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was the court appointed psychologist's opinion and testimony to the court, Blade Reed "had the social skills of a 10 year old", and that "97% of kids his age, were more socially adept then he was". The psychologist also testified  "if Blade develops in an adult center (prison) he will be negatively influenced by other (older) inmates". During his evaluation it was discovered Blade had been severely abused by his biological parents through age 6 and also suffers from ADHD, but had been taken off his medications.In addition, Blade continues to suffer from depression and anger issues resulting from the traumatic (sexual, physical and mental) abuse he endured throughout his entire formative years by the ones who were responsible for shaping the character of this young child.This petition hopes to achieve these goals:1) To have Blade Reed professionally evaluated and treated for possible undiagnosed mental disablilities,2) To re-examine and overturn the assignment of one year in disciplinary solitary confinement  for a replacement of a more humane discipline for Blade Reed ,3) To re-assign Blade Reed into an age and developmentally appropriate program, whereas, he would receive much needed psychological care, education and life skills training through counseling.These changes of his living conditions are crucial for him to be capable of becoming the sane, emotionally stable, and productive member of society he will need to be upon his future release. The adult system is geared towards punishment, the juvenile system fosters rehabilitation. Please, will you help this American child not to be forgotten and left in cruel and unusual conditions?We believe in our US Constitution and in our children...our future.

Thank You for your time and consideration of this matter

Breaking News - LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE CHILDREN IN AMERICA

In America, the federal government and 44 states impose LWOP for children, but only 39, in fact, use it. These sentencing policies for children are barbaric. ....The rush to try more and more children as adults began in the 1980s when the country was gripped by hysteria about an adolescent crime wave that never materialized. Joe Sullivan, the petitioner in Sullivan v. Florida, was sentenced to life without parole in 1989 — when he was just 13 — after a questionable sexual battery conviction. His two older accomplices testified against the younger, mentally impaired boy. The case of Terrance Graham a learning disabled child — born to crack-addicted parents — Mr. Graham was on probation in connection with a burglary committed when he was 16 when he participated in a home invasion. He, too, had older accomplices. He was never convicted of the actual crime but was given life without parole for violating the conditions of his probation. In one of the most shocking cases of the courtroom on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers.
This is a case where literally thousands of kids lives were tossed aside in order for a couple of judges to make some money. Among the offenders were teenagers who were locked up for months for stealing loose change from cars, writing a prank note and possessing drug paraphernalia. Many had never been in trouble before. Some were imprisoned even after probation officers recommended against it.
Troubled children in need of self honest assistence and support that went unnoticed. It is insupportable to conclude, as the courts did, that children who committed crimes when they are so young were beyond rehabilitation. The laws under which they were convicted violate basic human rights standards as well as violated the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
There is widespread agreement among child development researchers that young people who commit crimes are very likely to reform their behavior and have a great chance of rehabilitation. How can we hold these children accountable when we ourselves are not accountable for what we have accepted and allowed to exist within this world. Stand Up and face the shit that is going on within and as our world. Much change is necessary that requires self direction and self responsibility within self forgiveness and self honesty!
Support an Equal Money System for All from Birth till Death as a Solution- to reduce behaviours related to our current broken money system.
In America, the federal government and 44 states impose LWOP for children, but only 39, in fact, use it. Here's the Breakdown:
-- Indiana allows it from age 16; -- permitting it from age 15 are Louisiana and Washington; -- from age 14 are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, and Virginia; -- from age 13 are Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Wyoming; -- from age 12 are Missouri and Montana; -- from age 10 are South Dakota and Wisconsin; -- Nevada allows it from age 8; and -- 13 states permit it at any age, including Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. For News Sources: see description of video and Interactive State map link to see your locaton.
Join us in Discussion for Solutions
www.desteni.co.za
Background Music: A Piano, by Fidelis Spies, Desteni Chill
News Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/whenkidsgetlife/etc/map.html - Interactive map
http://www.endjlwop.org/the-issue/
http://current.com/news/89806725_judge-took-2-6-million-in-payoffs-to-put-kid...

When I Die, Please Send Me Home: A Child's Life Without Parole

America is the only country on earth that allows juvenile offenders to be sentenced to Life Without Parole. We have more than 2,500 child lifers - 109 for non-homicide crimes - in 38 states. Some children are simply broken, sociopaths who need to be kept away from society forever. And there are the miscarriages of justice, the kid forced to participate in the horror shows that get people killed, or the kid simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. They are white and black, girls and boys, rich and poor, from the North as well as the South. They are in New Hampshire and Colorado, Florida and Texas. They are very often in California. This documentary is NOT a piece of hand-wringing advocacy. NOT the "Innocence Project". We are not on a mission to spring the innocent. Both the film and the episodic insist on remaining in the realm of discomfort. We are proposing an uncompromising look at what it is to lock up a kid for life, both the "deserving" and the "undeserving", what that means for the kids, for the adults (and the elderly) who have lived behind bars since childhood. And what it says about us as a nation and a culture that we still wield this form of punishment on the unformed. We will also examine the life of the child behind bars, and be present at that moment when the reality of his existence comes crashing down around him: the realization that this is it. The hopes and dreams are gone. Replaced by confinement. Never to marry, never to date. Never to bear children or raise them. (Remarkable and terrifying fact: many juvenile lifers, upon entering prison, are forced to spend their first years - sometimes as many as a decade - in solitary confinement. Not out of punishment but to ready them to survive the prison's general population. Only when they are hardened are they sent out into the yards.) Also, what gets a child so broken that he is able to put a gun to the back of a man's head and pull the trigger? What of his biology, what of his upbringing? Not to say the killers among them are unjailable or unpunishable, but when a kid under 17 goes away forever, we are, for better or worse, extinguishing a flame. And it is a slow execution. So we are interested in locating, if it is findable, the moment of conception of the mistake, or the pathology. We will follow the lives of some of these kids inside ... and the families -- of the victims and the perpetrators both -- on the outside. Are there alternatives for kids like these? Or do we simply throw them in the box and dispose of them?

 

Joshuarofe@yahoo.com

 

 achildslifewithoutparole.com

16 yr old got 90 years/A MUST READ/HELP

if anyone "out there" can be of any help, please contact him at his address listed.
 
 





* http://www.whoopassforjustice.org
* http://justicewinds.blogspot.com
* http://knightsshadows.blogspot.com/

Sara Kruzan

If you don't know Sara's story please read below:


She was raised in Riverside by her abusive, drug-addicted mother. Sara met her father only three times in her life because he was in prison.


Since the age of 9, Sara suffered from severe depression for which she was hospitalized several times. At the age of 11, she met a 31-year-old man named G.G. who molested her and began grooming her to become a prostitute. At age 13, she began working as a child prostitute for G.G. and was repeatedly molested by him. At age 16, Sara was convicted of killing him. She was sentenced to prison for the rest of her life despite her background and a finding by the California Youth Authority that she was amendable to treatment offered in the juvenile system. This year after years of work by many parties Sara's sentence was commuted by Governor Schwarzenegger from Life in prison without the possibility of parole to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole....and so our fight continues until Sara is served the justice and freedom that has eluded her throughout her entire life.

---

"And who is responsible for this appalling child slavery? Everyone."
- Mary H. Jones


Soldiers As Slaves
By Jeff Turner (@respres)


It started as disgust. But as time passed and evidence mounted, the pain has worked it's way deeper into my soul. There is no way to fully describe the anguish that comes form watching, listening, or reading reports of the atrocities committed against our world's innocents. Young children are the targets of unthinkable cruelty. They're easier to manipulate, brainwash and abuse. And while the attacks are bad enough, the lingering effects of their abuse are overwhelming. These children will never be the same again. They are forever scarred. Our world is forever scarred

 

Kim Deanna - Advocate for Sara Kruzan - Best Friend
 http://www.freesarakruzan.org
 http://www.twitter.com/freesarakruzan
http://irishgreeneyesbodysnatchers.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html

A.A.A Wisconsin Chapter

The Juvenile Justice in the United States is certainly in dire need of America's undivided focus and attention, for far too many children are being led into the adult court system and discarded into the adult prison system unnecessarily. So I commend and applaud your efforts to bring a degree of responsibility to the juvenile justice Laws. Though I think it's important that America's focus and attention also include the teenagers that were waived and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in the adult prison system 15/16/17/years ago. I think Justice for these Juvenile offenders would include Liz Ryan, the Director for the campaign for youth justice called the 2nd look Legislation. '2nd Look' means youth serving long sentences get their sentences reviewed at some point in their incarceration. Would you consider 2nd look Legislation?3

A.A.A. Colt Lundy and Paul Gingerich -

What a lame-brained, stupid scheme: kill Colt's stepdad Philip Danner and then go to Arizona to sell T-shirts to "drug people." These kids had been planning it for weeks on the school playground, according to police, as only kids could do.

Yesterday the youngest of the two kids Indiana authorities tried as adults, 12-year-old Paul Gingerich, received the same sentence as Colt Lundy, the 15-year-old trigger-"man" and originator of the scheme: 25 years in prison.

A third boy who had been drawn into this idiocy but who had not participated in the actual shooting is being dealt with as a juvenile.

It's hard to sort out who is the most lame-brained in this whole affair: the kids who, being kids, are still developing and are working with brains incapable of grasping the depth and consequences of their stupidity, or all of the adults involved—the police, prosecutor, judge, parents, school officials, etc.—who should know better. Yet this is a bad outcome, not only for these boys and their families, but for society.

I only learned about this case yesterday when Wolfgang posted a link to the story originating from a TV station in my old hometown of South Bend, Indiana, so I don't know enough yet to be pointing the finger of blame in any particular directions. However, I do believe there will come a day when we will recognize that such tragedies are the inevitable result of conditioning by the combined effects on children of violent entertainments, mind-numbing and socially retarding schooling, and the breakdown of supportive family structures.

I'm ruing the fact, though, that I have been unaware of this case until now because I might otherwise have been able to help in a more timely way. I still know people in Indiana who might have made a difference (but still can).

I can imagine that the mothers of these boys are crying their eyes out right now in fear and horror of what their children's futures may hold—but we needn't go there now because it's not a hopeful picture. Yet the fact of the matter is that these boys are still children who have not yet been damaged by the system and turned into the brutal criminals they might become by ages 37 and 40 if they were to serve out their full prison terms.

There is still hope, as evidenced by recent Supreme Court rulings and changes in state laws (in surprising places) regarding the prosecution of children.

Maybe change will even come to Indiana. People everywhere are awakening. -
http://wandervogeldiary.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/lame-brained/

Zachary Neagle sentenced, was it fair?

It's a story that made national and international headlines. Zachary Neagle, now 15 years old, was charged with shooting and killing his own father with a hunting rifle last year. He claimed he did it because he was being sexually abused, and he feared the same would happen to his little brother and sister. He told his attorney his father had been sexually abusing him since he was 8 years old.
This case ignited a lot of passion from the people here in the Treasure Valley. It seemed everyone had an opinion about it. Some thought the claims of sexual abuse justified his actions, others felt he had other options to seek help. Some weren't sure he was ever abused at all. One thing is for certain, the pictures of him shackled and in a prison uniform sparked a lot of debate:

His supporters rallied for him at the courthouse, and the prosecutor planned to charge him as an adult for the crime. But before it ever went to trial, Neagle pleaded guilty. Yesterday, he appeared before a judge in Canyon County for sentencing.
In a plea agreement with prosecutors, he was sentenced to seven years in the juvenile corrections system. He's already served a year of that. Then on his 21st birthday he'll go back in front of the Judge to see if he can go free on adult probation. At that time, the judge could either put him on probation or send him to prison.
So what do you think? Do you think the Zachary Neagle sentence is fair?

TOREY ADAMCIK

Sixteen year old wrongfuly convicted, sentenced to LWOP


http://www.myspace.com/wrongfulconviction
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=1080035825&ref=profile
http://triedasadults.org/

TOREY ADAMCIK

TOREY ADAMCIK

TOREY ADAMCIK




Sean and Shannon Adamcik
Parents and Advocates of Torey Adamcik

Torey Michael Adamcik was a happy, well-adjusted 16 year old with no history of violence. Today, Torey is facing a life sentence in an adult prison for a murder he didn't commit.

It could happen to anyone...

Imagine your precious child, who has always been a joy and blessing in your life, who has never been in any trouble, meets someone and in six weeks his whole life is destroyed. That’s what happened to our son, Torey Adamcik. Read Torey's Story.

Kids in the justice system

The United States is a world leader in convicting children as adults. Unfortunately, once a child is charged as an adult, the likelihood of a fair trial is very small. The media sensationalizes crimes committed by juveniles, and kids are usually convicted in the press before their cases ever reach trial.

About Tried As Adults

Tried As Adults was founded in 2007 to heighten awareness about children, such as Torey Adamcik,in the adult justice system. Read more about what you can do to help Torey and other children like him.

Help is needed for Torey, and other children like him.

How You Can Help

If you have any information regarding other juveniles who have been charged as adults, please forward us that information. We are trying to start legislating for youths charged in Idaho.
You can show your support by writing letters of encouragement to Torey. We will pass all letters on to Torey.
You can spread the word about Torey’s situation.
You can make a donation to help with Torey's legal defense.
You can contact local legislators to protest youths in the adult system.
Washington, DC, Office
1339 Longworth
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-5531
Fax: 202-225-8216
Boise Office
802 West Bannock, Suite 600
Boise, ID 83702
Phone: 208-334-1953
Fax: 208-334-9533
Idaho Falls Office
490 Memorial Drive, Suite 103
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Phone: 208-523-6701
Fax: 208-523-2384
Twin Falls Office
1341 Fillmore St. #202
Twin Falls, ID 83301
Phone: 208-734-7219
Fax: 208-734-7244
Pocatello Office
275 S. 5th Ave. #275
Pocatello, ID 83201
Phone: 208-233-2222
Fax: 208-233-2095
Craig, Larry E.- (R - ID)
520 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2752
http://craig.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Crapo, Mike - (R - ID)
239 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6142
http://crapo.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

Support 12 Year Old Paul Henry Gingerich

Pen Pals are needed to write the young Paul Henry. He has now been relocated to a notorious child prison. Positive thoughts, ideas, letters of encouragement or cards are needed. Paul Gingerich, 201351 Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility, P.O.Box 900, Pendleton, In. 46064

http://wandervogeldiary.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/informed-judgment/

A VOICE FOR NELI LATSON

Sis Marpessa

Please help the family and friends of Neli Latson by reposting the below press release broadly and especially to media outlets, each day Neli is in that prison he is very vulnerable to attacks as he does not understand how he is expected to react to situations, particularly in that hellhole.  This is a very serious situation which is becoming increasingly alarming. We must shine the light of day on this appalling case, thank you! (A PDF of the release is available by e-mailing avoiceforneli@yahoo.com.)

For Immediate Release

A VOICE FOR NELI

Contact: Ola Jackson    540-425-0813
Spokesperson, A Voice for Neli    avoiceforneli@yahoo.com

IMMEDIATE RELEASE SOUGHT FOR WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED AUTISTIC YOUTH

Stafford, VA – 07/05/2011 – A Voice for Neli – a grassroots advocacy group formed to bring awareness to the plight of Reginald “Neli” Latson, an autistic teen the group contends was wrongly convicted and sentenced to serve time in a Virginia state penitentiary – is urging Gov. Bob McDonnell to pardon the youth.

Latson began his day May 24, 2010 sitting on the grass outside a local library in Stafford, Virginia. Unbeknownst to Neli, while he waited for the library to open, he was also being reported to the police by a nearby school crossing guard as “a suspicious Black male who may have a gun.” Weary of waiting, Neli left the library and was subsequently approached by a school resources officer, Deputy Thomas Calverly, who searched the teen for a gun and having found none, asked Neli for his name. Having voluntarily submitted to the search and perceiving that he may be being harassed, Neli refused and attempted to walk away, saying he had committed no crime. Calverly then grabbed Neli from behind and attempted to arrest him without reading him his Miranda rights or calling for back up. Neli resisted and both he and the officer were injured in the scuffle.

After a three-day trial, Neli was found guilty of assaulting a law enforcement officer, among other charges, and the jury recommended that he serve 10 1⁄2 years in prison. At the heart of Neli’s defense was the fact that he has Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder that is characterized by significant
difficulties in social interaction and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.

The case has raised concerns about how law enforcement deals with the developmentally and mentally disabled. A Voice for Neli contends that Latson had committed no crime when he was accosted, searched, and detained by Deputy Calverly, and that he should have been free to go once the officer determined that he did not possess a gun.

Following his arrest, Neli was held without bail in isolation for 11 days at the Rappahannock Regional Jail. Police allowed Neli’s school counselor to visit and she relayed messages and information to Lisa Alexander, Neli’s mother, who was allowed only one visit during that period. According to Alexander, Neli was unable to speak or communicate with her during their brief time together. “He appeared to be in a catatonic state. It was awful,” Alexander says.

As Neli’s time in isolation dragged on, police interrogators found him nonresponsive and disturbed and a judge ordered that he be transferred to a state mental hospital for 30 days of treatment and evaluation. He was later returned to jail for one year and spent eight months of that time in tortuous isolation. Doctors and those who are close to Neli say he is no longer the same young man. He is depressed and deteriorating, continuing to lose the functioning he had before the incident with Deputy Calverly. According to those doctors, Neli is in desperate need of a therapeutic facility, not another of year of suffering in a state penitentiary that houses hardened criminals.

At Neli’s sentencing hearing, Judge Charles Sharp opted to lengthen his incarceration, in spite of overwhelming evidence that Neli’s Asperger’s and poor police training contributed significantly to the events of May 24, 2010. Neli’s attorneys had presented to the judge a comprehensive fully-funded treatment plan that Neli would have been able to take advantage of immediately following the hearing. However, that treatment will now be postponed while he serves his sentence.

A Voice for Neli argues that even if Neli Latson were not autistic, his arrest on May 24, 2010 was unlawful and he never should have been jailed. According to Alexander and fellow autism advocates, it is unconscionable to treat those who are autistic and vulnerable the way Neli has been treated by the Stafford, Virginia criminal justice system. Alexander is urging Gov. McDonnell to respond to the group’s concerns by ordering the release of her son from prison immediately.

For prior coverage, see:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-reibel/teen-with-aspergers-arres_b_610530.html http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/08/is-sitting-while-autistic-a-crime.html?ocid=twitter
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/10/AR2010071002633.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/young-autistic-man-sentenced-in-assault-of- deputy/2011/06/01/AGBjUjGH_story.html
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/virginia/autistic-teen-jailed-for-officer-assault-071310
 Neli's mother, Lisa Alexander, also explains the case in further detail on video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEXVuQKVIjM&feature=player_embedded
http://t.co/dehqPNZ via @change

Justice for 13 yr old Jordan Brown

www.change.org 
 http://www.facebook.com/event.​php?eid=239188036108870
 http://www.change.org/petition​s/justice-for-13-yr-old-jordan​-brown-2

Jordan Brown has been incarcerated in Pennsylvania for over two years. He was 11 years old when he was charged with murder and he is 13

GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN - Please release Sara Kruzan from prison now!

 @ Phil Cenedella

Dear Governor Brown
In 1978 you were 3 years into your first term as Governor of the Golden State,......and Sara Kruzan had not yet been born.

Fast forward 16 years...........1994.

You had a radio show that among other topics, focused on the inequity of our criminal justice system and your aim was to CHANGE it.

At that same time Sara, who was now 16 and a human trafficking victim, had been repeatedly raped for five years by men three times her age, sold for sex, beaten and tortured.

Fast Forward 16 years............2011.

You are again the leader of one of the greatest states in our nation.

Sara sits in a prison cell in the state of California.

Former-governor Schwarzenegger recently commuted Sara's sentence but did not release her from her prison cell, ........which quite honestly makes no sense to us at all.



As President Abraham Lincoln stated so eloquently:

"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."



We the people, hereby request you correct this criminal justice inequity for this one particular case and use it as a catalyst to re-evaluate how our society handles the inequities child victims of human trafficking (slavery) face in America today.

Governor Jerry Brown:

It's 2011, please immediately, without hesitation or conditions, release Sara Kruzan from prison and help us all CHANGE THE WORLD!

peace,
phil cenedella
executive director
national association of human trafficking victim advocates
www.stopslavery2011.com
888.206.3264

PLEASE SIGN LET'S MAKE SOME CHANGE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH  FREE SARA KRUZAN
 http://www.causes.com/causes/604437-gov-jerry-brown-free-sara-kruzan-a-teenage-human-trafficking-victim?recruiter_id=18650741

LOOKING OUT, BUT NO ONE LOOKING IN

COMPASSION, KINDNESS AND MERCY IS ALWAYS “FREE”!

It is long overdue, for America to take back their children, they do deserve a “chance”, INNOCENCE UNTIL “PROVEN” GUILTY.
IF GUILTY, along with punishment AS A CHILD, rehabilitative efforts to help them become “productive members of society”.  NOT to “destroy” but to “help” them, guide them is so necessary/imperative in their young growing years.  The present day laws governing “children”, literally “destroys” yet, another life, those acts of law is “state sanctioned murder”……..

The statistics of the devastation of our nation’s youth is staggering. How did our youth become what they are today and what they are doing? Who’s responsibility is it, when “children” go astray? When a child gets into trouble, tho many adults in this child’s life, the child is the only one that ever gets punished, tho many adults are indeed as guilty. Children are a product of their surroundings, their environment, they learn what they see and hear from others. How can officials, in all honesty and justice, ONLY punish the child, when so many others are the reason, that child is now under arrest, and facing possibly long prison terms. What happen to the family units? Where is the “love and hugs”?, these children need so desperately? What happened to the teaching of manners ,etiquette and discipline of our nation’s youth? Yet, we can find  churches just about on every corner in every town in America, and more are being built. The daily exposure of violence on TV, in videos, on the internet, arcade games, etc, exposes the young brain to many things to ward them off to the unreal. Children have no understanding of the “reality” of death, can’t even comprehend it. America’s society must wake up to these atrocities against our nation’s youth, become involved in juvenile issues, for the sake and safety of their own children. Children are being held at a zero tolerance level in schools and every where they go and everything they do, for the smallest infraction/mistake, they could face arrest and prison time, for mistakes made as a child. Officials are holding higher/ more strict guidelines for “children” and receive much harsher sentencing, than their adult counterparts. Many children are literally thrown away and forgotten by society and officials,  many never had a chance since birth, in their very young lives. Many come from broken families, with parents who are alcoholics or drug users, many are child abusers, and many murder their own children. So many children are destined to a very dim and short future. If 100% guilty, punishment is warranted, but in a “juvenile court of law, along with rehabilitation efforts, counseling, discipline, guidance to assist them in becoming “productive” members of society. A “chance” NEVER offered by officials, with NO compassion, NO mercy,  many never “got” since their birth.

Prisons and juvenile detention centers are full of wayward children. How did they get there? What happened in their young lives? Many were sentenced to LIFE, and LIFE WITH “NO” CHANCE OF PAROLE, again, how many adults were in that child’s life, and how many were, indeed, responsible for that child? They are looking out now, with NO one looking in, forgotten, and destined to die in prison, for mistakes made as a “child”. Many were just around the wrong people, so vulnerable, so easily influenced, yearning to be accepted and loved by someone, anyone that would give them attention and care, they so desperately seek.  Many languish in prison daily, with NO mail, NO visitors, NO canteen funds, NO nothing, many abandoned by their own families AND society AND officials. Many classified as “first time offenders”, many did not murder or rob or rape anyone, just in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people, many of them attempt or commit suicide behind bars, feeling so hopeless and totally abandoned. What has happened to “compassion and mercy”?  Who will be our leaders of this country tomorrow, when our nation’s youth are all locked away and forgotten??   JUSTICE must be “tempered” with compassion and mercy!!

 When will YOU speak out for a child?

“They” are still “looking out” but few are “looking in.” 

LET'S ALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN 2011!!!

JUSTICE WINDS
http://justicewinds.blogspot.com/
http://www.whoopassforjustice.org/

Christopher Thrasher - Life without parole sentence at the age of 16

Christopher was a child having no financial means, who 16 years ago was locked up at the age of 16 for his alleged involvement in the murder of 2 juveniles. ALL AGREED he did not participate in the murders. Yet he was convicted by complicity to the murders despite a complete lack of "hard evidence" and was sentenced to the hopeless condition of LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE, in a maximum security prison.

Section 26-21-1 of State of Alabama Law states: "It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this parental consent provision to further the important and compelling State interests of: (1) protecting minors against their own immaturity and in part (b) The Legislature finds as fact that: (1) immature minors often lack the ability to make fully informed choices that take account of both immediate and long-range consequences...........So, do they automatically mature once they commit a crime?

The Krista Lynn McDaniel Story

At just turning 16, Krista got caught up with the wrong place, wrong time, with the WRONG ADULTS, tho she did NOT murder or rob anyone, unfortunately she was with those bad people that did, Roper v Simmons had not come into law at the time of this case, Krista was forced to make a decision, take the death penalty or succumb to a plea of 30 years with NO CHANCE of parole, has been in prison now for almost 8 years, and is slowing dying, losing any hope/chance of ever being released before sentence is completed. Her own father has abandoned her, she and I both have written him, he will not even answer, in her appeal to the SC court of appeals, after waiting 2 years, WAS DENIED. She is losing hope, and very much alone, with NO compassion, NO mercy. Juvenile law reform is "imperative" to help save our nation's youth. 30 yrs with NO chance of parole, is barbaric and inhumane and is destroying this child, ONE of many. This sentencing is cold, cruel, for a "mistake" made as a "child".
BEWARE, YOUR child "could" be next, to face such atrocities. Encourage ALL parents/guardians to get educated and involved in juvenile LAW REFORM"




NEVER THERE, DADDY HOW COULD YOU??


Daddy, how could you? Why would you? Leave me by myself, sitting here all alone. Forced to grow up on my own, Do you feel the feelings that I feel? or are you so cold?, to not see that my feelings are real.


How could you leave me, and let your light go on?
I'm your daughter, don't you know it's wrong?


I've cried for you my 21 years on earth, Even the day my mother gave birth. Didn't you hear? or do you even care?


I know now, nothing is fair.
If you're out there listening somewhere, I want you to know, I've loved you regardless.


No matter now, many times, you were never there!


Written by Krista Lynn McDaniel (c)
Age 23(now)-Leah Correctional Facility
Greenwood, SC.


http://www.whoopassforjustice.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1008


I continue my "justice fight" for Krista, and ALL of our nation's youth!!!

Krista McDaniel(16)~~30 yrs w/NO chance of parole/ FINAL JUSTICE? WHEN?

After many, many postponements of a post conviction hearing date, finally!!! scheduled for 21 July'08....In Aug' 08, ruling results the PCR request was denied...Her case was before the S. C. Appeals court, which was also DENIED. This "child" did not deserve 30 yrs w/out parole, for a "mistake" made as a child. JUSTICE was DENIED! No compassion, NO mercy!!

In 2002, Unfortunately like so many "children, she was "tried as an ADULT",(there was NO trial) a child, in wrong place at wrong time, with wrong ADULTS, She did NOT kill anyone, unfortunately caught up in the "injustice" system, sentenced to 30 yrs with NO chance of parole, She had just turned 16. She was so scared she would get the "death penalty", she was "talked into" taking a "plea". This bizarre case reeks of injustice.

For case details, please reference support link at http://www.whoopassforjustice.org/

Sara Kruzan - Break the Silence on Human Trafficking Victims

There are approximately 225 juveniles in California serving a life without parole sentence. California has the worst racial disparity rate in the nation for sentencing juveniles to life without parole. Black youth are given this sentence at 22 times the rate of white youth.

A number of California cases have recently been highlighted in the media due to the background of the juveniles who received the sentences, and the circumstances surrounding their crimes. One such case involves Sara Kruzan, now 31. She was raised in Riverside by her abusive, drug-addicted mother. Sara met her father only three times in her life because he was in prison.

Since the age of 9, Sara suffered from severe depression for which she was hospitalized several times. At the age of 11, she met a 31-year-old man named G.G. who molested her and began grooming her to become a prostitute. At age 13, she began working as a child prostitute for G.G. and was repeatedly molested by him. At age 16, Sara was convicted of killing him. She was sentenced to prison for the rest of her life despite her background and a finding by the California Youth Authority that she was amendable to treatment offered in the juvenile system.

"Life without parole means absolutely no opportunity for release," said Senator Yee. (of California) "It also means minors are often left without access to programs and rehabilitative services while in prison. This sentence was created for the worst of criminals that have no possibility of reform and it is not a humane way to handle children. While the crimes they committed caused undeniable suffering, these youth offenders are not the worst of the worst."

"As a society we've learned a lot since the time we started using life without parole for children," said Elizabeth Calvin, a children's rights advocate with Human Rights Watch. "We now know that this sentence provides no deterrent effect. While children who commit serious crimes should be held accountable, public safety can be protected without subjecting youth to the harshest prison sentence possible."

*Written by Michelle Quann

http://irishgreeneyesbodysnatchers.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html

Delaproser - Welcome to my world

Delaproser - Welcome to my world -
Delaproser is a human and civil rights advocate. The United Kingdom resident champions causes of the voiceless, the powerless and the weak, particularly in North America. She campaigns for Political Prisoners, petitions on behalf of incarcerated & human trafficking
http://irishgreeneyes-welcometomyworld.blogspot.com/?spref=tw
http://irishgreeneyesbodysnatchers.blogspot.com/?spref=tw

Steve Sydebotham - Juvenile Advocate

Kids in the system need help, and people who are willing to stand by them, no matter what.
S. Sydebotham -

A.A.A. - Cyntoia Brown

Imagine a young girl that has been abandoned early on by her biological mother and grandmother — who both share a history of emotional instability (including drug and alcohol abuse) and several generations of suicidal behavior. In spite of being adopted and nurtured by a loving family, by her teen years she begins to display emotional instability and erratic behavior and is arrested several times for offenses that land her in a juvenile facility.

By the age of 16 she is living on the street, taking drugs and running with an abuser who forces her to have sex with other men — sometimes for money. And then one day, after being ordered to bring in some cash, she goes home with a strange man she meets at a fast food restaurant parking lot and who is found dead in his house, the next day.

According to the Juvenile Justice Foundation there are at least 2,250 juveniles in the U.S. sentenced to life without parole for offenses committed when they were under 18 years of age. Cyntoia Brown of Nashville is but one young person who will spend the rest of her life in prison.

Several months ago, I was surprised to receive a letter in the mail the old fashioned way: with a postage stamp, delivered to my front door. It took me a few moments to realize it was from a young person I hadn't seen since 2004 and have thought a great deal about over the last several years: Cyntoia Brown

At 16, Brown took the life of a 43 year-old Real Estate Agent she met at a fast food parking lot in Murfreesboro (south of Nashville) and who brought her to his house. Whether this was a sexual transaction gone awry between a 16-year-old girl desperate for money and scared of being killed or, as friends and family of the victim have claimed, the slaying of a good Samaritan, we will never know.

What we know is Johnny Allen was found in his bed, naked and shot in the back of the head and 16 year old Brown was tried as an adult, convicted, and facing life in prison.

I first met Brown when she was 15 at Woodland Hills Juvenile Detention Center where I was teaching a life-skills class using video. The intention of the program was to prepare them with youth employment interview skills but my personal goal was limited to one thing per session: reflecting back one positive strength about themselves they could not see. Anything beyond was considered a bonus.

Brown was fiery, sarcastic, smart and desperate for attention. The first time we scripted scenes that would be videotaped, she made a point of informing the group that some day she would star in a movie--about her. Given her charismatic personality, there was little doubt this was true.

Getting to know her over a several month period was fascinating in that every meeting was like the first. One day she was lively, engaging and funny, the next sullen, distracted and uncommunicative — hardly a remarkable description of adolescent behavior.

What was striking and distinctive about Brown was her keen intelligence and high level of compassion and how often it all seemed buried under chaos and confusion. That Brown was damaged, was clear but how and why, I never knew.

A year later, Brown's face appeared on television — only it wasn't a starring role in a film but one devastating chapter of her life. From that first news report the worst moment of her life would now define her. A 16-year old girl became known as a ruthless killer and in 2006 she was tried as an adult and received a life sentence. Her name and the word murderer have become synonymous.

This month, on Tuesday, a film called Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story by critically acclaimed filmmaker, Dan Birman was featured on NPT and PBS stations nationwide as part of the Independent Lens series.

The film is not about retrying the case or implying innocence or guilt. It is about Brown and the complex and convoluted physical and emotional circumstances that resulted in mental illness and one man's untimely death. And perhaps it raises an eyebrow about trying the most vulnerable of youths in an adult system.

Along with numerous scientific studies, the National Institutes of Health suggests that the region of the brain that inhibits risky behavior is not fully formed until age 25 and that until the brain is fully developed, youth are not capable of making decisions rationally. Add on a history of mental illness and it is even more troubling.

The revealing interviews with Brown's adoptive mother and a forensic psychiatrist unearth a side of Brown that was never portrayed in the media. The interviews with Brown's biological mother and grandmother reveal their tragic struggles with mental illness, drug addiction and suicidal tendencies shed light on Brown's propensity for self destructive behaviors.

It is difficult to listen to these woman expose their most personal and vulnerable struggles without wondering how Brown's life might have taken a different turn -
http://cyntoiabrown-irishgreeneyes.blogspot.com/?spref=tw