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Free Efrén Paredes!Efrén Paredes, age 15, was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to three life terms without parole. As a youth, who needed time to mourn the murder of a good friend and mentor, he scrambled to defend himself in a system completely foreign to him. Efrén was convicted 20 years ago by testimony from five youths, four of whom admitted complicity and are presently free, while Efrén, who refused to confess and maintains his innocence, remains locked up. The Michigan Parole Board granted Efrén a hearing in December 2008. More than 100 people came to support him. They gave compelling testimony that he is a thoroughly competent person who would contribute more to society if free. He assists other prisoners with their cases and helps ease their depression; he transcribes books into Braille and is writing a book of his own. He organizes too, for example, a cancer walk among the prisoners raising more than $1200. He is active in the End Latino Youth Violence Initiative. But Efrén's major organizing work is to educate regarding the extraordinary U.S. practice of condemning children to die in prison. The U.S. is the only nation that admits to sentencing 12- to 17-year-olds to life without parole. There are 2,570 such people in the U.S. and only seven known cases outside it. One can predict the statistics that accompany juvenile life without parole (JLWOP): in two states, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where the youth population is 8% African-American, the ratio is 20 minority to one white. One child was only 12 years old when sentenced. About half of those serving JLWOP did not kill, but were accessories to murder with adult co-defendants. For 59% this was their first offense. Sixteen percent were 15 or younger when sentenced. False confession, inept investigation and official misconduct resulted in a segment of the JLWOP population completely innocent of the crimes they were sentenced for. Efrén Paredes is a prime example. To learn about his case go to www.4efren.com. The Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children has produced a factual pamphlet at http://www.law.northwestern.edu/cfjc/jlwop/. Also, the Pendulum Foundation is a good source of information. A map at http://www.endjlwop.org/stats-by-state shows that whether children receive JLWOP depends on which state they live in. And http://www.ricothomasrico.blogspot.com/ is a blog that has several entries both on JLWOP and Efrén Paredes' case. |
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