As reported by the AFP for Google News, a young man that was 14 when he beat and then killed a 13-year-old boy, has received a lifetime jail sentence, as he was prosecuted as an adult.
Wisconsin’s top court, in handing down the sentence without a chance of parole, said that it was not “unduly harsh and excessive” considering the severity of the crime.
Per the Equal Justice Initiative, O.N. is just one of over 2,200 teenagers that have been sentenced to life without parole when prosecuted as adults. At least 73 of the cases involve children that were between the age of 13 and 14 at the time of their crimes.
O.N. was convicted for picking a fight with his victim, along with four other youths, simply because he wanted to “mess with this kid.”
The victim, Z.V., had never met O.N. before the day of his death in September 1998.
The boys beat Z.V., a Hmong immigrant, and then chased him up the ramp of a parking garage. Once at the top, the boys beat him some more.
Then O.N. held the boy by his ankles and wrists, swung him back and forth over the edge, and then finally let go of him.
The crash killed Z.V.
The court described the crime as “horrific and senseless.”
Judge Annette Ziegler wrote of the court’s 5-2 decision, “Under the circumstances of this case, (O.N.) punishment is severe, but it is not disproportionately so. We conclude that his sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is not unduly harsh and excessive.”
O.N.’s lawyers are planning to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on the basis that his constitutional rights have been violated in regards to cruel and unusual punishment.
Bryan Stevenson, the executive director for the Equal Justice Initiative said, “To say to any child of 14 -- or 10 -- that you are beyond hope, beyond any chance of redemption or rehabilitation is cruel. The United States is the only country in the world to sentence children to die in prison.”
Under the state laws of Wisconsin, a juvenile 10 or older can be tried as an adult if accused of murder. The state law also allows for a mandatory life sentence if the person is convicted.
The judge can then decide if parole is a possibility.
O.N.’s lawyers argued that their client was young, had a dysfunctional family, had been excessively drinking since grade school and used cocaine weekly.
The circuit judge described O.N. as a “frightening young man” and “a child of the street who knew what he was doing.”
The state concluded that the punishment handed down was “not categorically unconstitutional”. Furthermore, they found that O.N., now 26, had “failed to demonstrate that there is a national consensus against sentencing a 14-year-old to life imprisonment without parole when the crime is intentional homicide.”
If you are headed to court on criminal charges, contact a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. Working out your defense is vital to your case.
