When Kids Get Life

“I threw away my life…there’s no reason to live…that’s the hardest thing…you have to sit there and look forward to something…” – Trevor Jensen

The United States is party to an international convention on civil and political rights, which is rehabilitation to young offenders, and prohibits sentencing them to life without parole. In 1992, the United States had about 400 juveniles sentenced to life without parole. Today there are more than 2,000. There rest of the world only has 12. Alison Parker, a member of the Human Rights Watch, answers the question of why the United States can be a party to such a treaty and yet have 2,000 inmates with no chance of parole. “…the child offenders that receive these sentences are the worst of the worst…they are hardened criminals”. Yet, most are innocent.

Jacob Ind came from a deeply troubled family. For years he and his brother, Charles, were victims of emotional and sexual abuse that was inflicted by their step father. “My home was filled with fear and anxiety…” Jacob says. When his brother, Charles, turned 18, he moved out but told a social worker to keep an eye on his brother. The social worker never performed an investigation. Jacob was just fifteen years old when he brutally murdered his mother and step father. To this day, he is suffering the consequences. “…there’s no graduation, no college, no normal adult life…just despair. There’s life out there and you’re not part of it…a sentence with no parole sends a message that you’re not worthy of rehabilitation...you’re a monster that’s not fit for society.” During Jacob’s trial many people testified in his defense like his brother who admitted that their step-father “would basically rape them.” Another personality included their neighbor, “his mother didn’t want him…she hated his very existence.” Still, the jury voted guilty for first degree murder. Jacob, now 29, recalls how he felt after his crime. “…I didn’t understand the pain…I didn’t think anybody would be affected.”

Not understanding the complete extent of their actions seemed common in the convicts throughout the video. Nathan Ybanez was 17 when he strangled his mother to death. His friend, Erik Jensen, was convicted of complicity and conspiracy in the crime. Later on during the trial it was exposed that Nathan’s mother would sexually harass him and his father would beat him. The night of the murder started out with Erik picking up Nathan from work. Nathan was anxious and depressed. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to kill myself or what was going to happen…I felt like I was in a little box that kept on getting smaller. All I wanted to do was get outside the box and have some peace. But it got to the point where I realized there is no escape. It’s not possible to get out…I hit her…and it just escalated and didn’t stop.” Erik helped Nathan clean up the mess. “Everything happened under a minute…It was over…I didn’t even know what was going on.” They threw all the messy things into dumpsters and rolled the dead body into a rug. Erik then went home and said nothing. “There were several times during that night when I thought his mom was going to get up and be pissed at us…because it just did not occur to me that she was actually dead.” Erik was charged with destroyed evidence and was sentenced to life in prison.

The factor that ties these two cases together is poor family support. When I was watching the video I was surprised at how normal Nathan, Erik, and Jacob came off as. Undoubtedly, they committed horrendous crimes but I couldn’t stop feeling sorry for them and the victims’ families.

“I missed out on graduation, weddings, babies…I don’t care if he found the cure for cancer. He should never get out of prison.”

“As I grow up and see everything he can’t do and everything that he’s missing out on and everything I have to do without him…it’s painful all the time.”

Without question, emotions on both sides are passionate and stunning. However, I do not agree with sentencing a teenager to life in prison. I feel like, if a grown man would have done the same crime, his appeal in court would have been insanity, and the punishment, therefore, not as harsh. Jerry Adameic says, “They had a right to make mistakes and fail. Society now is very unforgiving. It has no patience for children.” I do not think that society should be forgiving to rapists and murderers but in such cases as Jacob’s, Nathan’s, and Erik’s society should grant a forgiving glance. I believe that they have served their time. They were just kids when they’ve done the crimes and now they are all in their early 30’s. That is so much life wasted behind bars. It’s not even worth living.