…Only Equals 40 Years
The more I’ve looked at and considered the Supreme Court decision to ban executions for crimes committed by juveniles, the more I’m incensed by the injustice it represents.
I’m appalled at what this decision means for the 28 Texas death row inmates who were under 18 when they committed their crimes; “less culpable” kids like Raul Villarreal, Robert Acuna, and Geno Wilson.
A few of these guilty murderers will have their sentences commuted to a Life Sentence. Most others will only have to serve out a lesser number of years.
Like Efrain Perez and Raul Villarreal, who raped and murdered two teenage girls in what one investigator called the “most vicious, sadistic, animal-like” attack he had ever seen. They have each served more than a third of their mandated 35 years behind bars. They could be freed as early as 2028.
Do you know what a “life sentence” in Texas really means? 40 years. Not life. Just 40 years. Texas is one of four states – along with Alaska, Kansas, and New Mexico – that does not have a “Life without possibility of Parole” sentence.
From a Constitutional perspective, I’m most bothered by the fact that Monsieurs Kennedy, Breyer, Souter, and Stevens, and Madame Bader Ginsburg have decided to base US Constitutional decisions on International opinion. Hopefully, President Bush will have the opportunity to appoint a Justice-or-two who will help overturn this horrible decision.
UPDATE: The Houston Chronicle reports that Mauro Barraza, who was condemned for the June 1989 robbery-murder of a Fort Worth-area woman, already has served the 15-year minimum prison stretch mandated by law at the time of his offense, and likely will be the first considered for release.
He could be on your streets any day now.
I think the most interesting part of the decision is how it clearly refutes the court’s previous ruling that minors could, in fact, be responsible for significant moral decisions. Wrote Scalia in his dissent:
“[W]e have recognized that at least some minors will be mature enough to make difficult decisions that involve moral considerations. For instance, we have struck down abortion statutes that do not allow minors deemed mature by courts to bypass parental notification provisions. It is hard to see why this context should be any different. Whether to obtain an abortion is surely a much more complex decision for a young person than whether to kill an innocent person in cold blood.”
Left by John on March 4th, 2005 at 12:15 pm