An inmate serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for his part in a murder that was committed when he was 16 can now apply for parole under a new law.
Edel Gonzalez, 38, requested a hearing under Senate Bill 9. He was subsequently re-sentenced to 25 years to life.
“I think Edel Gonzalez is exactly the kind of person that this law contemplated,” Elizabeth Calvin of Human Rights Watch.
Gonzalez and adult gang members attempted to carjack Janet Bicknell and fatally shot her in August 1991, news reports state. After his conviction, he received a sentence of life without parole.
At the time, Gonzalez was the youngest person ever to receive such a sentence in Orange County.
Gonzalez did not shoot Bicknell or carry the weapon, but he received the same punishment as his adult cohorts, reports say.
“Young people often make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes have terrible consequences,” said former state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, author of SB 9. “We cannot write any child off for the rest of their lives. We must at least give them the chance to atone and seek forgiveness for what they’ve done.”
Gonzalez’s lawyers told The Associated Press “he was a model prisoner” since entering prison for his part in the fatal attempted carjacking.
Supporters of the law that allowed Gonzalez to be re-sentenced said, “Those who commit crimes as juveniles should be given a second chance,” the Merced Sun-Star reported.
Opponents of the law, including victim rights organizations and some representatives of law enforcement, said the law “would subject survivors to relive the experience.”
“There isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not reminded of the wrong, the harm and the pain I’ve caused,” said Gonzalez.
“Young people have an incredible capacity for rehabilitation,” said Yee, who is also a child psychologist by training.
According to the Merced Sun-Star, California has more than 300 inmates serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole for felony convictions committed when they were teen-agers.
“California is among 39 states that allow judges to sentence minors to life in prison,” the Sun-Star reported.
Last year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentences of this nature are unconstitutional for minors, pointing to the use as cruel and unusual punishment.
California law already allows judges the discretion to sentence juveniles to 25 years to life, the Sun-Star reported.
Since 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown has signed two bills into law making it possible for juveniles serving sentences of life without and life with parole able to lessen their terms.
“The consequences of murder need to be severe,” said Christine Ward of Crime Victims Action Alliance, a nonprofit organization that lobbied against each bill.
In September 2013, Brown signed SB 260, which allows certain juveniles serving life sentences an earlier opportunity for release, the Marin Independent Journal reported.
According to the IJ, the law “requires the parole board to give ‘great weight’ to the diminished culpability” of adolescent offenders.
“A lot of people think if you take a life, you lose your life. I just think, particularly when we’re talking about young people, the analysis has to be deeper and more complex,” said Calvin.
There is no guarantee of release. San Quentin inmate Michael Nelson’s 25 year-to-life sentence does not make him eligible for the possibility of parole for another 10 years, the IJ reported.
Nelson and about 16 other inmates are involved in a prison group, Kids Creating Awareness Together (Kid CAT), made up of juveniles who were sentenced to life.
“The men have drawn acclaim for their focus on self-improvement through education and counseling,” the IJ reported.
“They are proof in the flesh of why we should never throw our kids away,” said Scott Budnick, a producer in Hollywood and advocate for reform in the juvenile justice system.
In 1988 Howard Jones, also a Kid CAT member, committed a double homicide and was subsequently sentenced to two life sentences with the possibility of parole.
“I made choices that led up to the homicides as a result of my irrational thinking, confused state of mind, immaturity, lack of knowledge and life experience,” said Jones.
SB 9 will not benefit Jones because his crimes did not involve special circumstances, which could have increased his sentence to life without the possibility of parole.
Jones said he is hopeful because of the ongoing steps lawmakers are taking to establish fair and rational sentencing for juvenile offenders sentenced as adults.
“My decisions as a youth have had a devastating effect on my victim’s family and friends, as well as on my own family and friends,” said Jones.
Jones said new sentencing guidelines, such as those in SB 9 and SB 260, covers all categories of juvenile offenders sentenced as adults.
