News Archive

The California Catholic Conference chose passage of SB 399 as a top priority this year, and on April 28th over 700 Catholics from around the state came to Sacramento to meet with legislators and urge support for fair sentencing for youth.  Steve Pehanich, CCC’s senior director for advocacy and education, noted the importance of having so many voters at the capital.  “When people from their home districts come all the way to Sacramento to visit, [legislators] know it’s important,” said Pehanich. The CCC concludes that “young people — even those serving life sentences — have the capacity to change for the better. SB 399 would still allow juveniles to be sentenced to life in prison, but they would have the opportunity for parole consideration. If an offender had matured and proven him/herself to have changed, there would be the opportunity to earn parole. The Catholic approach leads us to encourage models of restorative justice that address crime in terms of the harm done to the victims and communities — not simply as a violation of the law.”

On April 28th at 6pm the University of Southern California will host a meeting focused on the use of life sentences for people under the age of 18 years old. Panelists, including Professor Heidi Rummel of  the USC School of Law, Elizabeth Calvin of Human Rights Watch, and Efren Paredes, Jr. who is serving JLWOP (present by phone) will  discuss several questions, including:  Should juveniles be sentenced to life in prison? Are our youth incorrigible? Why is the U.S. the only nation in the world to not ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child?  Location: USC Campus WPH102 Sponsored by M.E.Ch.A. de USC.

On April 22, the Board of Trustees of LACBA unanimously voted to support passage of SB 399. The  vote came after input from prosecutors, defense attorneys, and civil practitioners. One District Attorney provided the perspective of someone who had prosecuted teenagers in adult criminal court. She spoke of her experience and concluded that LWOP for youth is an unjust and inappropriate sentence. Board members had studied materials in preparation for the meeting and participated in a presentation and discussion prior to the vote.