Greenwood Commonwealth Publisher Tim Kalich lamented a Supreme Court decision that allows juveniles to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Mr. Kalich bewailed in his current syndicated column:
Also this past week, in a setback for criminal justice reform, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Mississippi’s right to sentence juvenile killers to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The conservative majority overturned a 5-year-old precedent that said such severe punishment could only be imposed if a teenage defendant was found “permanently incorrigible.”
The previous court decision meant well — to hold youthful offenders to a different standard than adult criminals — but the standard it set was flawed in its arbitrariness. It created a rule that could rarely if ever be proven. Who can say with certainty that anyone, much less someone in his or her teens, is forever incapable of being rehabilitated?
The Supreme Court’s latest decision, though, did not tie Mississippi’s hands. The state retains the power to change the law. It should.
The proper time and place to decide whether those who kill in their youth constitute a permanent danger to society is not at their sentencing but years or decades later, at a parole hearing.
If their behavior in prison and psychological evaluations show that they might kill again, then they should stay put behind bars.
But if they have repented and reformed, it serves no good purpose to keep them locked up — and it’s expensive.
Mississippi should avoid laws, except in the most horrific cases, that remove discretion from the criminal justice process. Mandatory sentences and no-parole sentences close the doors to the possibility that people can change for the better.
Perhaps the esteemed publisher forgot about one Mr. Luke Woodham. The Luke Woodham massacred his fellow students at Pearl High School more than twenty years ago at the tender age of 17. The Court sentenced him to serve three consecutive life sentences in prison. He has asked for a parole hearing but has not received one.
Does Mr. Kalich think Woodham should get a parole hearing? Should he get a chance to show he has "repented and reformed?' If so, should he stay behind bars? Granting such a hearing is what he advocated in his column, after all. A parole hearing means the families of Woodham's victims will have to attend parole hearings for Woodman o if they want to make sure he stays in prison. Criminal justice, indeed.
Mr. Kalich will probably claim he didn't mean monsters such as Luke Woodham. Maybe he only meant juvies under the age of 15 should be eligible for a parole hearing. If so, where did he pen such an exception? How many people should a teen kill before he loses the chance at parole? 2 people? 4? 6? 20? Perhaps Mr. Kalich should ask the family of Giles Bryant what they
think of one his teen killers going free after only a few years. Under Mr. Kalich's standard, all teen killers should get that precious parole hearing regardless of the crime. Such thinking is how one winds up with teen girls killing Uber drivers and walking scott free after spending only six years in prison.
Sorry, Mr. Kalich, but when people kill, a line is crossed, even if the killer is a juvenile. The state should have the right to sentence those who kill to life in prison without a chance at parole. It's not about vengeance, Mr. Kalich, it's about protecting society those who have killed and might kill again. They forfeited their lives when they slew their fellow man.
32 comments:
Woodham was not sentenced to life without parole, which is what the U.S. Supreme Court was dealing with, so it does not apply to his case at all.
He is serving three consecutive life sentences.
He should stay in prison the remainder of his life. As the father of two daughters I have no sympathy for him what so ever. Can he be forgiven? sure. He still need to remain in prison. here is my thoughts as to why...
These murders truly involved 100% innocent people, Children that had their whole life ahead of them. Killed for no reason at all. Don't tell me he's got mental issues. That's fine he can have them in prison. If he is crazy tell him he's at Disneyworld. The parents of those innocent children will never see them grow up, enjoy life, have children, etc. F this guy.
Along those same lines I am anti death penalty but not for the reasons of most. I would gladly put this guy down given the chance if that was my child but I am anti death penalty because its too good for them. make them live 65 years in a cell. That's better punishment. Go to bed every night knowing you ain't going nowhere tomorrow but to a crappy breakfast and harassment by other thugs. Serves him well. Selfish bastard.
I am a former prosecutor and have sent many murder defendants to prison. I don't know enough about Woodham's present situation, and I admit that, at first blush, the visceral reaction is that he should never be paroled. However, I have also participated in Kairos, which is a very powerful prison ministry. I was told that Woodham has become very deeply involved in that ministry and has become a leader in getting other prisoners involved. I guess all I am saying is that, at some point, even Luke Woodham may be a prisoner whom the parole board might consider for parole. It may be a long shot but perhaps not something to be completely foreclosed.
Tim Kalich is an idiot and always has been.
In mississippi as a juvenile, the severity of your punishment wholely depends on the age and race of who you kill.
- kill a white child, expect to spend life in prison or death penalty
-kill a white adult, expect 30 years to life in prison
- kill a black child, expect 20-30 years
- kill a black adult, expect no more than 10 years
Why do prisons exist? Is it for punishment, or redemption?
If it's for redemption, how do you determine who is truly repentant? And if someone has truly changed, then shouldn't they be released immediately?
If prison is for punishment, then why bother with parole hearings and "time off for good behavior?"
Answer those questions as a society, then the next steps will be easy to manage.
Kalich and Wyatt Emmerich are in a race to see who can out crazy the other on the way to the bottom. Just when I think Emmerich has him beat here comes Kalich running like mad to catch up.
@ 9:53 am. I agree Jesus will forgive and Luke can go to heaven when he dies. But he should die in prison.
If he got out and I was the father of one of those children Ole Luke would need a few corks.
@9:53
Tell that to the family of Lydia dew in addition to the families of the other people that piece of shit killed or maimed.
10:41-absolutely. and, as a matter of fact, he can probably do a world of good IN prison for the rest of his life. far more good than he could do outside of the prison walls...
P Panther You've really got mush for brain matter.
10:09 AM
One Correction Pitt. That should be "In Hinds County".
10:14 AM
God can forgive. I don't.
Mr Kalich's argument seem to be based on the assumption that the "permanently incorrigible" test requires proof "with certainty."
Without doing the research, I find it highly improbable that anything in court must be proved to a level of "certainty." I suspect Mr. Kalich has put up a straw man in his zeal for reform.
10:09: You failed to factor in the jurisdiction in which the killing took place, focusing instead only on the race of the victim.
How many lives did Woodham take on that fateful morning? I recall him killing his mother before arriving at the high school.
The way I see it: If his victims rise from their graves then and only then should he go free.
Sincerely.
Kalich continues to turn more and more to the progressive side. Honestly, I think most of the stuff he spews if for effect. He wants to be the topic of conversation. We took great joy in stopping our subscription to the Commonwealth after over 20 years Ya know what, WE DO NOT MISS IT, or him
He deserves an additional life sentence for Sparkles,..RIP
Pithy panther didn't leave any links to his stats.
Good thing Kalich is a publisher and isn't into policy or decision making. Woodham is far safer behind bars than out. I can guarantee he wouldn't make it long on the outside for what he did.
See this is why we should never put liberal people in charge. So the kid gets three life sentences? Seems to me when you go off the deep end that bad they should strap you in the chair and put the juice to you. Oh but because you’re a child killer you get a break? Screw that! What right do you have to live when murder people at random. So the taxpayers get to pay for your room and board On the bright side he can cut his sentence in half with good behavior..... and still die a murderer .
Kalich is the editor. And if I was an editor of a MS Delta newspaper, I would have lost my mind also.
Not an opinion. Just for thought. Miller v. Alabama? Also, how does anyone accurately evaluate and predict risk of future criminal offenses and/or violence as an adult when that individual has been incarcerated since an adolescent? Do most adults continue to act as they did as adolescents? Does context matter in evaluating future risk and/or behaviors during incarceration? Could someone be motivated to behave in one direction or another for an end gain? Are there empirically validated measures or standards? Asking for a friend.
@8:01
Good question! Tell your friend that when you murder your mama , pour lighter fluid on a dog and set it on fire, and go shoot up a high school, we can accurately come to the conclusion they don’t ever need to let your ass out in public again.
Woodham not only wreaked havoc with a long-gun concealed under a trench-coat, in hot weather, he also had just killed his mother and his dog. Had it not been for an assistant principal, as I recall, going out to his vehicle to get a firearm, the carnage would have continued. Am I mistaken in thinking I recall that the man who stopped the carnage was either terminated for having a weapon on school grounds or soon quit the job.
Those of you who don't know, be advised that the Luke Woodham carnage, Pearl, Mississippi, is the exact point at which the modern day school shootings had their origin. The seniors who survived that day, if living, are now around 32 years old with children of their own. Those who did not...ARE neither.
Regardless of his alleged and perceived behavior in prison, we have NO way of knowing whether or when a monster changes his stripes and the risk is too large for a gamble.
Woodham killed his dog, too?
Courts should’ve given him the needle.
I do not care if he has become the most wonderful person on the planet. He is not in prison solely for our protection from his future actions. He is in prison as punishment for killing innocent people. Reform in prison should focus on people who should get out and maybe they can improve their lives and lives of others. Luke should die in prison as punishment.
@9:26 AM
Try again. The class of 2000 is turning 40 this year.
And those of that generation that died in Iraq because the GOP lied, wont turn 40 either.
Get over it. Luke was a kid and was influenced by older guys who walk free today.
@ 10:45 The soldiers that died for your ability to say dumb stuff did so on their own accord. There is no draft. They were not killed by a crazy person that did not get enough attention growing up. Luke Is a POS and needs to wait out his time in prison. It is punishment not rehab. Im still amazed you compared soldiers in a war to innocent children in a school. Spoken like a person with TDS.
@9:26 - Woodham followed other school shooters. He wasn't the first. Remember the tower sniper at the Texas college? Or the girl in California who said she killed her classmates because she "didn't like Mondays"? This type of violence has been around a very long time.
4:49 - Reading comprehension issues. Key words 'modern day'. The incidents you reference were years prior to the Woodham carnage. He is indeed the literal father of the modern day school shootings phenomenon. Name others that happened within the five or so previous years. A landslide has followed since Woodham.
11:45 - So I don't recall the exact year. I do recall many of us in the building (right down the road from Pearl High) rushing to the TV in the lounge to watch the coverage. Matters not whether those kids would be 32 now or 40, they won't be either. And as to your comment about what or who influenced him, you don't know that any more than I do. And it's totally irrelevant. Have you ever heard a judge say, "In light of what influenced you, I'm going to cut you some slack"?
Someone who kills his own mother and then sets his dog on fire will take no prisoners as long as he is undeterred with enough ammo. Let him sit there on his fat ass for sixty more years. By your math, he'll be 100. Nobody other than a few novelists and people with black nails and lipstick give a rat's ass about what influenced him. While you're connecting Iraq, consider 58,000 who perished in Nam due to democrat leadership. Neither war has parallel bearing on the Woodham situation.
"Woodham followed other school shooters. He wasn't the first. Remember the tower sniper at the Texas college? Or the girl in California who said she killed her classmates because she "didn't like Mondays"? This type of violence has been around a very long time."
Ah, 4:49 PM, the post which you reference correctly states that Woodham started the 'modern day school shootings'. The Texas Tower shooting was 33 years prior and the California 'I hate Mondays' shooting was 20 years earlier. There were NO school shootings within 20 years of Woodham with most earlier as far back as 33 years and earlier.
I well remember going to the Evers airport to pick up candidates flying in for interviews. After leaving the airport we would pass this school on the Interstate and I'd always point it as as the start of the mass shooting incidents at US schools.
Post a Comment