laurell3
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quote:
ORIGINAL: TheHeretic
I hope some of the folks on the opposition side in the death penalty thread will offer their thoughts here. I happen to think this crime was sufficiently heinous to warrant that, but justice took a different path and the situation is what it is. The first two links are old coverage, but only one detail is new here. He's about to get out.
Meet Donald Schmidt, a state's oldest youth offender - NPR link to 2005 story
Last year, the New York Times ran another, more sympathetic, version of the story.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/us/26juvenile.html Sympathy aside, they did include this;
quote:
“Over all,” Dr. Starrett testified, “he seems to be in the high to high-moderate range in propensity for future violence.”
Which brings us to the latest update, the part where he is about to be released, and the specific question;
When he is placed in a halfway house, does the community need to be informed?
format edit
That depends on the state's statute. Here someone adjudicated under the juvenile code is not a sex offender. What's interesting though is he was held in a juvenile facility as an adult. They have to have separate physical sections for adults and children. California seems to be a bit different in that, here and the states surrounding, once he becomes an adult, he is subject to a board of mental health comittment. We're not bound to just continue to treat him under the juvenile code, if he's a danger to himself or others and is over 18, he goes to an adult psychiatric correctional facility.
Also, the intent standard for a child can be different than that for an adult. It's quite possible the sodomy charge was thrown out on that issue and yes his prior history would be relevant. As far as the death penalty goes, he wouldn't be eligible for it because of his age. While it is safe to assume there are many adults that are beyond rehabilitation, the law usually does not do so for children. Thus, the preference for juvenile court is because that court is specifically designed for rehablitation and monitoring (in theory at least, after the federal budget cuts it's very unlikely many many children will get any help at all).
Ironically though, because juvenile courts aren't bound by all of the constitutional requirements of determinate sentences, it is MORE likely that kids will serve LONGER sentences than in adult court. As heinous as you may think this case is, I've seen people out in the community after 5 years for similar offenses as adults. Under the juvenile code (which apparently in CA extends a longass time) if they aren't rehabilitated, they stay locked up. That's not true for adults absent them being an obvious danger to themselves or others.
< Message edited by laurell3 -- 6/19/2010 5:12:02 PM >
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RE: A tough case in criminal justice - 
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