Life in Prison for Juveniles: Is it Good Public Policy?

07/09/2008

It's been ten years (May 1998) since Kip Kinkel shot and killed his parents and then opened fire at his school in Springfield, Oregon. Currently, Kinkel is serving a 111–year sentence. He is one of at least 60 juvenile murderers serving life sentences in Northwest prisons. Some – like Kinkel – will probably die in prison. Others have a chance at parole. But is it good public policy to prosecute juveniles as adults and sentence them to life? Correspondent Austin Jenkins takes us behind bars in search of some answers.

IN A SMALL CLASSROOM AT THE OREGON STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION IN SALEM, A CLEAN–CUT INMATE WITH BUZZED HAIR SITS DOWN FOR AN INTERVIEW.

CHEADLE: "Hello my name's Joe Cheadle, I'm 31 years old. I've been in prison since I was 17 years old. "

CHEADLE IS WHAT'S KNOWN AS A JUVENILE LIFER. THAT MEANS HE WAS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR A CRIME HE COMMITTED BEFORE HE WAS 18. IT WAS AN APPALLING CRIME: HE USED A WOODEN TABLE LEG TO BEAT TO DEATH A 103–YEAR OLD MAN. IT HAPPENED DURING A BURGLARY IN 1993.

CHEADLE: "When I went in the house and I seen someone was there I panicked and I impulsively reacted and I hit him."

GUINAZZO: "Oh it was horrible to find him bludgeoned to death in his chair in his own home."

LEONORA GUINAZZO (GWEE–NOT–SO)WAS CLOSE FRIENDS WITH CHEADLE'S VICTIM. HIS NAME WAS ULISSE (U–LEASEE) EDERA (E–DE–RA). AN IMMIGRANT FROM ITALY. A MAN WHO GARDENED AND DANCED AND KNEW ALL THE WORDS TO ALL THE SONGS FROM HIS MOTHERLAND. CHEADLE SAYS HE FELT NO REMORSE AT THE TIME.

CHEADLE: "The remorse I felt then was 'what did I just do? I'm going to get in a lot of trouble.' Now I'm totally appalled by the way I thought."

GUINAZZA TESTIFIED AT CHEADLE'S SENTENCING. TODAY – 15 YEARS LATER – SHE IS SURPRISINGLY LENIENT TOWARD THE MAN WHO KILLED HER FRIEND.

GUINAZZO: "We can't jail them all for life. You know if their life can be productive then out he goes as far as I'm concerned – but I sure don't want to put anyone at risk."

IN SOME RESPECTS, CHEADLE IS LUCKY. HE COMMITTED HIS CRIME BEFORE OREGON VOTERS PASSED MEASURE 11 IN 1994 – WHICH SET TOUGH, NEW MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES. CHEADLE RECEIVED A LIFE SENTENCE, HOWEVER HE'S ELIGIBLE TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF PETITIONING FOR PAROLE AFTER JUST 20 YEARS. CHEADLE THINKS HIS SENTENCE IS FAIR.

CHEADLE: "Life sentence for juveniles is acceptable, it's life without parole that is to me unacceptable."

ACCORDING TO THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, AT LEAST ONE JUVENILE KILLER FROM OREGON IS SERVING LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE. THERE'S ALSO SCHOOL SHOOTER KIP KINKEL. HE HAS A RELEASE DATE. BUT IT'S NOT UNTIL 2110 – BY THEN HE'D BEEN 128 YEARS OLD. IN OTHER WORDS, KINKEL WILL DIE BEHIND BARS – UNLESS HE WINS A REPRIEVE IN COURT. WASHINGTON AND IDAHO ALSO HAVE LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR JUVENILES. ACCORDING TO A 2008 REPORT BY HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, WASHINGTON HAS 28 INMATES SERVING THAT SENTENCE, IDAHO HAS 4.

PARKER: "Life without the possibility of parole is a sentence that constitutes a human rights violation – pure and simple – if it's ever imposed on a child."

ALISON PARKER IS WITH HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH. SHE SAYS THE UNITED STATES IS ONE OF ONLY A HANDFUL OF COUNTRIES THAT LOCKS JUVENILES UP AND THROWS AWAY THE KEY. THREE YEARS AGO THE U–S SUPREME COURT OUTLAWED THE DEATH PENALTY FOR JUVENILES. PARKER SAYS GROUPS LIKE HERS ARE NOW SHIFTING THEIR ATTENTION TO BANNING LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS. SHE SAYS – WHETHER IT'S LIFE WITH OR WITHOUT PAROLE – THE U–S SEEMS TO HAVE FORGOTTEN THE PRINCIPLES OF JUVENILE JUSTICE WHICH SAY YOUTH ARE DIFFERENT FROM ADULTS AND THEREFORE SHOULD BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY.

PARKER: "What we find in many, many states – whether we're talking about life without parole, or we're talking about mandatory sentencing or we're even talking about life with the possibility of parole – these are all adult sentences and they result from processes in which juveniles are increasingly being treated as if they were adults and that violates human rights standards."

PROSECUTORS AND VICTIMS RIGHTS ADVOCATES – NOT SURPRISINGLY – HAVE A DIFFERENT VIEW.

HORNER: "I think the key idea there is proportionality. An appropriate sentence for there to be real sentence needs to be proportionate to the level of crime."

GREG HORNER IS CHIEF DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN CLACKAMAS COUNTY, OREGON – THE COUNTY THAT PROSECUTED JOE CHEADLE BACK IN 1994. HE SAYS IT'S UNFAIR TO MAKE A JUDGMENT ABOUT A SENTENCE WITHOUT KNOWING THE DETAILS OF A PARTICULAR CRIME. IN THE CHEADLE CASE, HE SAYS, THE DETAILS ARE HORRIFIC AND GRUESOME.

HORNER: "To think that there are people that are thinking that Mr. Cheadle's sentence is overly harsh is what is surprising to me. To think that he has a life sentence and is going to be out in 20 years – that is not proportional in my mind."

AND THAT'S WHY – HORNER SAYS – OREGON VOTERS GOT FED UP AND PASSED MEASURE 11 IN THE MID–1990S. TODAY AGGRAVATED MURDER RESULTS IN 30 YEAR MINIMUM SENTENCE AND JUVENILE KILLERS ARE AUTOMATICALLY TRIED AS ADULTS. HORNER THINKS THAT'S APPROPRIATE PUBLIC POLICY.

BACK AT THE OREGON STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, JOE CHEADLE SHOWS ME HIS CELL.

CHEADLE: "This is pretty much where my cellie and I live. I'm bottom bunk, he's top bunk."

IT'S A SIX–BY–NINE RECTANGLE WITH A METAL TOILET. CHEADLE SAYS THE ONE THING THAT KEEPS HIM GOING IS KNOWING HE WILL GET A PRE–PAROLE HEARING IN FIVE YEARS.

CHEADLE: "If I didn't have that review hearing, I can't imagine how hard it would be. There's guys I know that will not get out and they were 15, 16. I know they did some heinous crimes. But all I think is at some point, 30 years down the road, 20 years down the road someone should take a look at them."

THE DEBATE OVER WHETHER TO REPEAL LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS IS ALREADY UNDERWAY IN STATES LIKE CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA. JUVENILE ADVOCATES IN WASHINGTON STATE HOPE TO PROPOSE LEGISLATION IN THE NEAR FUTURE. I'M AUSTIN JENKINS REPORTING.