Press Statememt

Press Statement from Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport 2/24/03 en route to Rome to meet with Vatican officials…

My daughter, Rebecca, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole at the age of 15-years-old in the state of Florida.

She had never been in trouble before and had no pattern of delinquent behavior.

A jury convicted her, and an older person, of murder and robbery. While there was considerable conflicting evidence as to her participation, if any, in the crime, the jury found her guilty. While I continue to have serious doubts about her participation in the crime, I am here as a parent to say that no child should be sentenced to prison without any chance of getting out.

Under current Florida law, there is no distinction between children and adults who commit certain crimes. Young teens transferred into the adult system must be treated like adults in every way. In sentencing, a judge is not permitted to consider lack of prior record, lesser culpability than co-defendant, potential for rehabilitation, diminished mental capacity due to emotional immaturity, intoxication or recognized psychiatric disorders. On a child convicted of a crime such as Rebecca's, a judge must impose the sentence life in prison without the possibility of parole.

When adjudicated as an adult, youngsters are judged solely by the nature of the crime. In essence, the crime defines them, and they lose all privileges and safeguards normally provided to minors under the law. Many of these children may be redeemable, but we'll never know, for within the current legal system for juveniles in Florida, it doesn't matter whether they're redeemable.

President Bush inspires us when he says we are a nation of compassion and that we should leave no child behind. Yet, we fail to consider ratifying treaties like the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which does not permit offenders under the age of 18 to face life without the possibility of release. Moreover, many, if not most juvenile offenders can be seriously punished and rehabilitated. Working to make these children to be more responsible while teaching them to be moral and productive would benefit everyone.

These are America's children that are being thrown away with disregard for redeemability. Other nations are capable of separating the act from the child. These nations let the child know that while the criminal act was completely unacceptable, they still care enough about children to allow them the possibility of redeeming themselves.

Why can't we, as a compassionate nation, a wonderful nation, do the same for our own children. America's children.

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