Monday, October 03, 2005
EATING OUR YOUNG
One night Rebecca Falcon, at age 15, "got drunk on bourbon and ruined her life".
"About 9,700 American prisoners are serving life sentences for crimes they committed before they could vote, serve on a jury or gamble in a casino - in short, before they turned 18. More than a fifth have no chance for parole".
"The United States is one of only a handful of countries that does that. Life without parole, the most severe form of life sentence, is theoretically available for juvenile criminals in about a dozen countries. But a report to be issued on Oct. 12 by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International found juveniles serving such sentences in only three others. Israel has seven, South Africa has four and Tanzania has one".
"By contrast, the report counted some 2,200 people in the United States serving life without parole for crimes they committed before turning 18. More than 350 of them were 15 or younger, according to the report".
"Forty-two states and the federal government allow offenders under 18 to be put away forever. Ten states set no minimum age, and 13 set a minimum of 10 to 13. Seven states, including Florida and Michigan, have more than 100 juvenile offenders serving such sentences, the report found. Those sending the largest percentages of their youths to prison for life without parole are Virginia and Louisiana.
For a country that boasts of being '82% Christian', we sure aren't very forgiving. Rebecca Falcon was 15, she wasn't the 'shooter'-she was basically along for the ride and she'll spend the rest of her life in prison.
Israel, South Africa and Tanzania...That's some good company, huh? ... We're such a compassionate society...
$Loading... = the
National Debt
On August 15, 1935, Wiley Post, the first pilot to fly solo around the world, and American humorist Will Rogers were killed when Post's plane crashed on takeoff from a lagoon near Point Barrow, in Alaska.