FL Reviews Sentencing Law for Juveniles:
A Punishment That Fits the Crime
Posted April 11, 2014 08:30 am
TALLAHASSEE,
FL - Today the Florida Senate is scheduled to consider a
bill that would bring the state in compliance after two
Supreme Court decisions determined the state's juvenile
sentencing laws are unconstitutional.
It's
too little, too late for inmates such as Kenneth Young,
who was sentenced to four life sentences for armed
robberies he committed when he was 14.
Chrissy Dorian was his teacher in high school and later in jail.
"Kenneth was one of my favorite students ever," she
relates. "Of all of my students, I have to say he would
be the last one that I thought would ever experience or
go through something like this.
"It absolutely broke my heart when I found out what had
happened."
Young is one of 2,500 juveniles nationwide sentenced to
life in prison since the late 1990s.
He committed the crimes under the direction of his
mother's drug dealer, and until then Dorian says he was
a model student.
This Sunday a film featuring Young's story - "15 to
Life" - will be screened at the Florida Film Festival in
Orlando.
Paolo Annino works as Young's attorney and is also the
director of the Children in Prison Project at Florida
State University.
He and his staff applied for re-sentencing for Young and
a judge reduced his term to 30 years.
Annino says the fact that Young committed the crimes
under the influence of an adult should be taken into
account.
"Kenneth didn't have a gun," Annino points out. "Kenneth
did not have a car. Kenneth had no idea that when he
agreed to do these aggravated robberies what the
consequences were."
According to Human Rights Watch, 70 percent of juveniles
sentenced to life in prison committed their crimes under
the direction of an adult.
Dorian and others who work closely with Young believe
he's served his time, and is ready to be a contributing
member of society.
"He made a mistake, definitely," she says. "He didn't
hurt anybody, and I would love to see him be given
another opportunity to make something out of his life. "
The United States is the only country in the world to
sentence children to life in prison.
Photos/graphics, layout added by the Observer
Photo from trailer: 15 To Life