Thanks to Judge Benjamin Lindsey, who founded the nation’s first juvenile court in Denver in 1903, Colorado was at the forefront in its treatment of youthful offenders well into the 20th century.
In his mind, kids were kids and deserved to be judged on a different scale from their adult counterparts.
“When Kids Get Life,” the “Frontline” segment airing at 9 tonight on KRMA-Channel 6, demonstrates how far we haven’t come.
A perceived rise in violent crime in the 1990s, a media feeding frenzy and prosecutors’ eagerness to appease voters by trying children as adults led to more severe sentences, using a quirk in the law called “felony murder,” which automatically dictates life without parole. Defense attorney Norm Mueller sums it up: “Crime has always been a big political issue, and so it’s very easy for politicians to say, ‘Let’s punish; let’s make the sentences longer; let’s not let people get out.”‘
The mostly sympathetic “Kids” documentary looks at five Colorado men, convicted for murder in their teens and doomed to spend the rest of their lives in prison with no possibility of parole. According to Human Rights Watch, there are 2,225 inmates in the United States who are serving such sentences. There are 12 in the rest of the world.
Colorado recently changed life without parole to possible parole after 40 years. It is not retroactive.
At 90 minutes, “Kids” is 30 minutes too long. Producer/director Ofra Bikel could have stated her case with three examples instead of five, but the stories are devastating – for both perpetrators’ and victims’ families.
The young killers (one was only 15 when he murdered his parents to end years of physical and sexual abuse) face a long road to the end of their lives. Understandably, the victims’ families harbor no trace of forgiveness. One’s mother says bitterly: “I don’t care if he finds a cure for cancer, he should never get out.”
Ultimately, it comes down to a question posed by one expert: “Are we achieving the goals of justice?”
Around the dial
Good to know they’re still alive: The 20th annual KOOL Koncert, a two-day affair featuring Steppenwolf, the Four Tops, Tommy James and the Shondells and the Turtles, takes place June 15 and 16 at Coors Amphitheatre. Tix, info at Ticketmaster. … Nine hopefuls take part in the Metropolitan Opera grand finals tryouts (11 a.m. Saturday, KVOD 90.1-FM). Former winner Stephanie Blythe hosts. … Quotable: “In 10 years I’ll either be on the street or dead. I’m not going to keep doing this.” Erik Jensen, sentenced at age 17.
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-954-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
