SAN FRANCISCO — Sara Kruzan was 17 when she was sentenced to die in prison for killing and robbing a pimp in a Riverside motel.
Now, at 32, Kruzan has a chance at being freed, along with thousands of other juveniles convicted of murder who were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Read more...
Showing posts with label Juveniles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juveniles. Show all posts
Monday, August 20, 2012
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Cuts in juvenile parole left teen in 'Tuba Man' case unsupervised
One of the three teens convicted of killing a popular Seattle street musician in 2008 continues to make headlines for his tangles with the law. Billy Chambers – who's now an adult – was most recently locked up for hit-and-run. It turns out he did not qualify for supervision by a juvenile parole officer because of state budget cuts.
Ed McMichael – aka "Tuba Man" – was a fixture outside Seattle's sports venues. He died in 2008 following a brutal attack by a group of teens.
Ultimately Chambers and two others pleaded guilty in the case. Chambers served one year behind bars.
Since then court records show he's racked up two theft convictions and faces multiple traffic offenses. Now he's accused of ramming his car into a woman who'd reported him to the police. Read more...
Ed McMichael – aka "Tuba Man" – was a fixture outside Seattle's sports venues. He died in 2008 following a brutal attack by a group of teens.
Ultimately Chambers and two others pleaded guilty in the case. Chambers served one year behind bars.
Since then court records show he's racked up two theft convictions and faces multiple traffic offenses. Now he's accused of ramming his car into a woman who'd reported him to the police. Read more...
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Clemency of juvenile killer gives Yee hope
The last-minute sentence commutation of a woman serving life without parole for killing her pimp at age 16 has given a Peninsula state senator hope this is the year California abolishes the absolute term for all juvenile offenders.
As one of his final gubernatorial acts, Arnold Schwarzenegger granted clemency to convicted murderer Sara Kruzan by reducing her sentence to 25 years to life in prison. While the change doesn’t guarantee freedom to Kruzan, who fatally shot the man in 1994, it does offer the possibility.
State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/San Mateo, has long argued that all juvenile offenders deserve the chance at rehabilitation and release rather than being incarcerated at a young age with no hope of parole. He initially proposed completely outlawing the sentence but it failed to pass. Last year, Yee successfully pushed a tweaked version known as the Fair Sentencing for Youth Act through the Senate with bipartisan support but it died in the Assembly during the final days of the session. He reintroduced the legislation, now known as Senate Bill 9, last month. Read more...
As one of his final gubernatorial acts, Arnold Schwarzenegger granted clemency to convicted murderer Sara Kruzan by reducing her sentence to 25 years to life in prison. While the change doesn’t guarantee freedom to Kruzan, who fatally shot the man in 1994, it does offer the possibility.
State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/San Mateo, has long argued that all juvenile offenders deserve the chance at rehabilitation and release rather than being incarcerated at a young age with no hope of parole. He initially proposed completely outlawing the sentence but it failed to pass. Last year, Yee successfully pushed a tweaked version known as the Fair Sentencing for Youth Act through the Senate with bipartisan support but it died in the Assembly during the final days of the session. He reintroduced the legislation, now known as Senate Bill 9, last month. Read more...
Friday, November 5, 2010
14th National Workshop on Adult and Juvenile Female Offenders
The State of Utah , Division of Juvenile Justice Services is hosting the 14th National Workshop on Adult and Juvenile Female Offenders in Salt Lake City , Utah
You can find more information HERE!
You can find more information HERE!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
TYC reduces use of anti-psychotic drugs
Texas: Anti-psychotic drugs meant to treat mental illness were being used instead as chemical restraints on youths incarcerated in Texas Youth Commission facilities, Commissioner Scott Fisher said.
The medications, which have a sedating effect, are intended to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder but were used on youths who did not have those diagnoses.
Fisher, a Bedford pastor, said the commission has worked over the past year to implement a system that focuses on matching drugs to need. Statistics show that since last year the commission has throttled back spending on the drugs. Read More...
The medications, which have a sedating effect, are intended to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder but were used on youths who did not have those diagnoses.
Fisher, a Bedford pastor, said the commission has worked over the past year to implement a system that focuses on matching drugs to need. Statistics show that since last year the commission has throttled back spending on the drugs. Read More...
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
After Court Ruling, FL Mulls New Penalties for Ex-Juvenile Lifers
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning life sentences for a class of violent juveniles has put Florida in a legal quandary when deciding the offenders' new prison terms.
Kyan Bucknor was 15 in 1999 when he shot two patrons and unleashed a volley of bullets into Broward Sheriff's Office deputy Al Hibbert outside a Lauderdale Lakes nightclub.
The teen's sentence: life in prison.
But Bucknor, now 26, will get a reprieve thanks to a May U.S. Supreme Court decision banning life-without-parole sentences for juveniles who did not kill anyone. The ruling left Florida in a quandary: For undeniably violent crimes, what is an appropriate alternative sentence in a state that has no parole system? Read More...
Kyan Bucknor was 15 in 1999 when he shot two patrons and unleashed a volley of bullets into Broward Sheriff's Office deputy Al Hibbert outside a Lauderdale Lakes nightclub.
The teen's sentence: life in prison.
But Bucknor, now 26, will get a reprieve thanks to a May U.S. Supreme Court decision banning life-without-parole sentences for juveniles who did not kill anyone. The ruling left Florida in a quandary: For undeniably violent crimes, what is an appropriate alternative sentence in a state that has no parole system? Read More...
Mental health group finds unaddressed issues among D.C.'s young offenders
Many of the young people who are arrested in the District have mental health issues that to go unaddressed by the juvenile justice system, according to a report to be presented Thursday by a group representing local mental health providers.
The study by the D.C. Behavioral Health Association found that despite increased attention to the mental health of children and adolescents in the city, access to social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists appears to lag far behind the need. Read More...
The study by the D.C. Behavioral Health Association found that despite increased attention to the mental health of children and adolescents in the city, access to social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists appears to lag far behind the need. Read More...
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Bill would let juvenile criminals seek leniency
When Democratic state Sen. Leland Yee talks about SB399, he inevitably points to the case of Sara Kruzan.
In 1994, at age 16, Kruzan killed her alleged pimp three years after she was forced into prostitution. The Riverside girl was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison with no possibility of parole.
Under SB399, juvenile offenders such as Kruzan, now a 32-year-old prison inmate, would be allowed to ask a court to review their case after 10 years in prison, and could potentially get their sentence reduced to 25 years to life. The bill - a watered-down version of Yee's original proposal, which would have barred life imprisonment for all juveniles - has been approved by the state Senate and is set to be taken up by the Assembly as soon as Thursday. Read More...
In 1994, at age 16, Kruzan killed her alleged pimp three years after she was forced into prostitution. The Riverside girl was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison with no possibility of parole.
Under SB399, juvenile offenders such as Kruzan, now a 32-year-old prison inmate, would be allowed to ask a court to review their case after 10 years in prison, and could potentially get their sentence reduced to 25 years to life. The bill - a watered-down version of Yee's original proposal, which would have barred life imprisonment for all juveniles - has been approved by the state Senate and is set to be taken up by the Assembly as soon as Thursday. Read More...
Monday, August 16, 2010
Electronic bracelets to track gun-toting Memphis juveniles
Memphis police want to stop gun-toting teens in their tracks -- literally.
Police Director Larry Godwin is teaming with Memphis Mayor A C Wharton to develop a pilot program that monitors the steps of troubled teens through advanced electronic tracking bracelets.
It's part of a $2 million, federally funded program to curtail crime using tracking equipment that can pinpoint a detainee's exact location.
More than 150 minors were arrested with guns last year, police said. And the arrests haven't slowed this year. Read More...
Police Director Larry Godwin is teaming with Memphis Mayor A C Wharton to develop a pilot program that monitors the steps of troubled teens through advanced electronic tracking bracelets.
It's part of a $2 million, federally funded program to curtail crime using tracking equipment that can pinpoint a detainee's exact location.
More than 150 minors were arrested with guns last year, police said. And the arrests haven't slowed this year. Read More...
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