From Junior High to Life In Prison-Cruel and Unusual Punishment

 I have been holding this article for the “right time” to publish this information.  It seems that now is the time.  When I first read the article, my attention immediately went to the picture of the boy.  In this article, and the articles that I have found published on the web, there was very little mentioned about the boy.  There is no mention about his family, about motive, about intention, about other suspects that were investigated.  Nothing.  Only the stark statement about his arrest and the charge against him. 

Read the article, watch the video that follows which was released by the Equal Justice Initiative and I will be back with you after the video.

Sunday, September 28, 2008 Teen charged with killing father Updated: 09/26/2008 06:55 AMBy: Jim Gibbons

ONEIDA COUNTY, N.Y. — Back in January, Joseph J. Giacona Jr. was murdered in his home in Vernon. Now, after an eight month long investigation, police have made an arrest and it is someone very close to home.

Thirteen-year-old Joseph Giacona III was arrested Thursday morning and charged in the murdering of his father.

In January, Joseph J. Giacona Jr. was found shot in the head in his Vernon home. Police say he was asleep on a couch at the time he was killed.  ‘State Police investigation at the scene revealed no indication of a struggle in the residence, no signs of forced entry and nothing missing from the home. The only weapons located in the home were found in a gun cabinet,’ said Major Donald DePass, Troop D Commander. The investigation was turned over to an Oneida County grand jury earlier this month after nearly eight months of examination. Because there were no eyewitnesses, the information for the case is based off a collection of facts, which is why it took such a long time to process.

‘It was imperative that the state police conduct and exhaustive and intensive investigation following up every possible lead and every possible theory with respect to this case,’ said Kurt Hameline, Oneida County Assistant District Attorney.

Giacona III had placed the 911 call the day of his father’s death. He has now been indicted on murder in the second degree and he will be tried as an adult in Oneida County Court.  ‘If convicted of murder in the second degree, a maximum sentence would be life imprisonment. The court would have to set a minimum of no less than five, no greater than nine,’ said Hameline.  Giacona III did plead not guilty in Oneida County Court Thursday morning. A pretrial conference has been set for Friday, October 3rd.
(Latest information:  Pre-trial has been moved to Movember1,2008).

The only saving grace in this young man’s story is that in the state of New York he cannot receive a sentence of Life Without the Possibility of Parole.  In my home state, he would. 

It is Cruel and Unusual Punishment to sentence a 13 or 14 year old to life (death) in prison.  More to the point, it is Cruel and Unusual Punishment for us to sentence ANY of our young people to Life in Prison.  While we can catch your attention and arouse your righteousness over this boy and the children in the video, we should be able to do the same concerning all the boys and girls serving life in prison. 

13, 14, 15, 16, 17………they are all kids.  They all have the same look of innocence.  They all deserve a chance.  I urge you to advocate against mandatory sentencing laws, laws that allow children to be prosecuted and sentenced as adults and laws that cause children to serve adult time in adult prisons.  I urge you to support HR 4300 (www.hr4300.com), which gives US a chance to undo the harm that has been done and give these kids a chance at LIFE. 

Thank you, Equal Justice Initiative (www.eji.org) , for battling on behalf of these children and for delivering such a stark message.

This entry was posted on 19. October 2008 at 14:34 and is filed under Prison Reform Advocates, Juvenile Reform Advocates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

| Print