Two juveniles convicted of robbery, firearms charges bring into question law over trying youth as adults. From the Associated Press:
The Washington state Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the lengthy sentences of two young men who were teenagers when they stole candy and cellphones on Halloween night in 2012, but were charged as adults.
The justices said the sentencing judge should have taken the boys’ ages, 16 and 17, into account “because ‘children are different’ under the Eighth Amendment.”
The way the AP writes the first paragraph, you’d think that the court system was going after these teens for stealing candy & cellphones. Nope.
The boys had met some friends on Halloween 2012 and drank vodka, smoked pot and played basketball before using a white hockey mask and silver revolver to take candy from two trick-or-treaters in Tacoma, Wash. They moved on and demanded candy and cell phones from another group. They later hid in a broken down Cadillac and ate the treats.
They were caught and a police officer who tested the gun found that it contained the wrong ammunition, which would have kept it from firing.
The boys were charged with robbery plus nine firearms enhancements. The robbery charged triggered a Washington state law that requires the case to move from juvenile to adult court without a hearing to determine whether the transfer was appropriate.
So where does the 8th Amendment come into play?
Seven of the justices agreed, saying their recent decisions “explicitly hold that the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution compels us to recognize that children are different.”
That amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, requires trial courts to use discretion regardless of whether the youth is tried in juvenile or adult court, the justices said.
Here’s the actual wording of the 8th Amendment:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
It’s not like these two were 11 and 12 years old. If a 16 and 17 year old are doing adult crimes, they should be charged like adults.