CA Bill to Expand Protection of Violent Juveniles

by · Published · Updated

In 2018 the California Legislature passed and Governor Brown signed SB 1391 into law.  That bill removed the authority of District Attorneys and Superior Court Judges to try violent juvenile offenders under the age of 16  in adult court.  While trying a defendant of that age was already quite rare, in some cases where the murder was particularly horrific and clearly planned, a trial in adult court would allow the killer to be sentenced to a long incarceration or even a life term.  Murderers tried in juvenile court can only be held until age 25.  An example of why this is important is the case of Daniel Marsh.  In 2013 the 15 year-old stabbed to death and mutilated the bodies of an elderly couple in the small college town of Davis.  Marsh admitted to he had butchered the couple because he wanted to know what it felt like.

Anita Chabria of the Los Angeles Times reports that this year the Legislature is considering an expansion of the law to require that all offenders under the age of 20 be tried in juvenile court.   The bill, AB 889, by Berkeley Senator Nancy Skinner, would protect thousands of additional violent criminals from appropriate consequences, deny justice to their victims and allow these criminals to be released years earlier than adults convicted of the same crimes.  The logic of this, according to the proponents, is that people under the age of 20 do not have fully developed brains, and should therefore not be fully held to account for their violent criminal acts.   It might be worth noting that state and federal law currently allows those who turn 18 to vote, marry, enter into contracts and serve in the military, all with underdeveloped brains.  But they should not be held accountable for rape or murder.  The good news is that an appeals court decision holding SB 1391 unconstitutional has been accepted for review in the California Supreme Court.  The case is O.G. v. Superior Court, and CJLF is filing argument supporting that decision.  If it is upheld, it is likely that SB 889 could be invalidated as well.