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Posted November 2005
From: valerie
stossel Dear Cathy:Christopher Pittman is a child from florida that was tried and convicted in south carolia as an adult for killing his grandparents when he was only 12!he was on an adult dosage of zoloft,he loved his grandparents with all his heart, his case is going to be heard by the south caolina supreme court at there request,please sign our petition and i would be so grateful if you could let others know about it. thank you, valerie stossel We need your help. I am writing to you requesting support to help reform the juvenile justice system throughout the United States. As a member of justice for juveniles I am opposed to children/teens being tried and sentenced as adults. Please go to our site http://www.justiceforjuveniles.org and www.juvenilejusticefoundation.com , our mission statement and about some of the children/teens we are trying to help. Our group is presently preparing a bill to go before the SC Legislators entitled "Christopher's Bill - Juvenile Justice Reform Act. In SC and other US states, children as young as 10 are being arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced as adults under mandatory sentencing mandates. Children are being sentenced to mandatory terms created to net young people involved in gang violence and the drug trades. Children are being sentenced to life without parole ( often under the influence of prescription drugs,) otherwise average and above average children commit unthinkable crimes. These children are then thrown into a court and sentencing system designed for hardcore adult criminals. Mandatory sentencing does not take into consideration the past non-violent social history or the effect (strong prescription drugs have on young minds.) The results are ruined young lives. We need your support. Please sign this petition and lend your name in support of reforming the juvenile justice sytem. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/429258617 On July 21st, 2001, The President of the United States, spoke about juvenile justice in America as follows: "But we must have goals beyond just punishment. We must, at the deepest level, embrace our youth instead of fearing them." -President George W. Bush, July 30, 2001. Thank You and I wait to hear from you. I look forward to hearing from you soon. valerie
stossel Attachment: Christopher's Bill - Juvenile Justice Reform CHRISTOPHERS BILL - THE JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM ACT TO: THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE PETITION TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE INVOLVING CHILD SENTENCING REFORM IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA JUDICIAL SYSTEM We the undersigned, do hereby petition the South Carolina Legislature to immediately and without delay open a joint discussion on the juvenile justice system. We the people support judicial discretion for the punishment to fit the crime in every case. Judges should determine appropriate sentences based on the facts concerning juvenile cases that come before their court. Judicial discretion is "American Justice". Congress built departure authority into the sentencing system when it passed the Sentencing Reform Act in the 1980's. Departure power is necessary to guarantee a fair and just criminal justice system. Mandatory minimums established for adult sentencing deprive judges of the right to dispense juvenile justice on an individual basis. Prosecutors and mandatory minimums currently dictate sentencing which is often inappropriate for crimes committed by children. South Carolina judges should have their authority restored enabling them to dispense fair and just sentences to the children of South Carolina in the juvenile justice system. WE THE UNDERSIGNED, DO HEREBY PETITION THE SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE TO SUPPORT AND PASS INTO LAW; CHRISTOPHER'S BILL (THE JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM ACT) 1. NO CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF 14 MAY BE SUBJECTED TO MANDATORY SENTENCING. 2. CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 14 WHEN CHARGED WITH A CRIME SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE OR RELEASE AT THE AGE OF 21. 3. CHILDREN WITHOUT A HISTORY OF PRIOR CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR SHALL NOT THE TRIED IN AN ADULT COURT. 4. REHABILITATION WITHIN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM MUST INCLUDE COUNSELING AND EDUCATION. 5. CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 14 MUST HAVE AN ATTORNEY OR GUARDIAN PRESENT BEFORE THEIR MIRANDA RIGHTS CAN BE READ. 6. CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 14 MUST NOT BE QUESTIONED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT WITHOUT AN ATTORNEY OR GUARDIAN PRESENT. 7. ANY CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF 14 WHO COMMITS A CRIME WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A PRESCRIBED MIND-ALTERING DRUG MUST BE TRIED AS A JUVENILE IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM. 8. ANY MENTALLY ILL OR MENTALLY DISADVANTAGED CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF 14 WHO COMMITS A CRIME MUST BE TRIED AS A JUVENILE IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM. 9. THIS BILL IS RETROACTIVE FOR 10 YEARS FOR CASES INVOLVING CHILDREN THAT WERE UNDER THE AGE OF 14 AT THE TIME OF THEIR ARREST AND LATER TRIED AND SENTENCED AS ADULTS. Authors Janet Sisk, Michael and Sheila Maloney Organization Justice for Juveniles Copyright 2005 Justice for Juveniles We need your support. Please sign this petition and lend your name in support
of reforming the juvenile justice system. |
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