(En Español) SB 9 Youth Sentencing (Lee-D, San Francisco) fell one vote short in the State Assembly last year, but advocates – including the California Catholic Conference – continue efforts to ask lawmakers to change the practice of sentencing children to life without parole. Two recent short documentaries look at the issues:
Statement of the California Catholic Conference's Restorative Justice Committee, May 18, 2010In a 5-4 decision on Monday, May 17, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Graham v. Florida, that the sentence of “Life without Parole” (LWOP) for non-homicide crimes committed by juveniles was unconstitutional. Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, “Life in prison without the possibility of parole gives no chance for fulfillment outside prison walls, no chance for reconciliation with society, no hope.”
Clearly this Supreme Court decision is a good first step towards more just sentencing—sentencing which will offer the offender, the victims and the community a chance for restorative justice. Quoting from our 2000 document, Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation,” promulgated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: “[O]ur response to crime...is a moral test for our nation and a challenge for our Church...Our tasks are to restore a sense of civility and responsibility to everyday life, and promote crime prevention and genuine rehabilitation...A Catholic approach begins with the recognition that the dignity of the human person applies to both victim and offender...We are convinced that our tradition and our faith offer better alternatives that can hold offenders accountable and challenge them to change their lives; reach out to victims and reject vengeance; restore a sense of community and resist the violence that has engulfed so much of our culture.”
Nationwide, 1.7 million children awaken each day to the reality that one of their parents is incarcerated. About 300,000 California children have a parent in state prison or jail and over 560,000 have a parent on parole or probation. Twenty percent witnessed their parent’s arrest. Children are often one of the forgotten, hidden victims of crime. This is especially evident when siblings must live in different locales and may never see each other for years. Their care falls on guardians and many times elderly grandparents.
Since 1984, the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) has provided Federal grants to provide essential, often life-saving services for crime victims. The Crime Victims Fund is not financed by taxpayer dollars but by fines, forfeitures, and other penalties paid by federal criminal offenders. By statute, the Fund is dedicated solely to supporting victim services. Because these non-tax dollars have already been collected and deposited into the Fund, raising the cap does not add to the national deficit or debt.
Every year, State VOCA victim assistance grants provide vital direct assistance that supports more than 4,000 agencies nationwide in providing services to 3.5 million to 4 million victims of assault, robbery, gang violence, intoxicated drivers, fraud, elder abuse, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, sexual assault, stalking and survivors of homicide, and many others. Each year’s grants supports create or retain for more than 20,000 full-time equivalent jobs (at an average cost of less than $20,000 each).
