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"Difference in sentencing of two juveniles highlights difficult issue"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the headline of this local story out of California.  Here is how it gets started: A 14-year-old south Modesto boy who killed a young father at a child's birthday party will likely die in prison. Angel Cabanillas, now 19, stands to serve at least 100 years behind bars. But just 40 miles south in Merced, a boy who was 15 when he committed a fatal drive-by to impress his fellow gang members is set to be sentenced Monday to 31 years in prison. He could be out by the time he's 42. The disparity in their sentences reflects a divide in how judges and prosecutors handle violent crimes committed by children. The topic of whether minors can be sentenced to die in prison has recently come under scrutiny by the U.S. Supreme Court and the California Legislature, and their discussions could change the rules for cases like Cabanillas...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 22, 2010 (boomark / email).