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MADERA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A assemblage of parents gathered extracurricular the Madera County Superior Court connected Monday, demanding tougher consequences for juveniles charged with murder.
The protestation follows a akin demonstration successful Hanford past month, which was besides successful effect to a increasing fig of convulsive crimes committed by teens successful the Central Valley.
On Monday, the mothers stood successful enactment of Samantha Bautista, whose 13-year-old son, Jacob Munoz, was stabbed to death. Also determination was Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno.
“It takes a fewer years," said District Attorney Sally Moreno. "So you person a halfway of radical who've been harmed by it, and radical who are consenting to basal up and lead."
The mothers accidental the halfway of the occupation is Proposition 57, a 2016 instrumentality that, successful part, altered the attraction of juvenile offenders successful California’s justness system. Moreno says the instrumentality removed prosecutors’ discretion to complaint minors arsenic adults successful definite superior cases.
“It utilized to beryllium earlier Prop 57 that prosecutors similar myself had the enactment to record against minors successful big court,” Moreno said. “Prop 57 took that discretion distant from us. Basically, 14, 13 and under, determination are nary consequences for crime.”
Many of the women astatine Monday’s objection are mothers who person mislaid children to violence, including Stephanie Tellez, Susan Grote, Brenda Harris, and Megan Halliwell. Each shared idiosyncratic stories of grief and frustration, hoping their corporate dependable volition propulsion lawmakers toward change.
Even fathers are joining the movement. Stephen Quick, whose lad Caleb was killed, says helium believes the existent strategy fails to present justice.
“Prop 57 has truly messed up the justness system, successful my opinion,” Quick said. “They’ll beryllium retired astatine 25 and conscionable beryllium capable to unrecorded a happy, mean life, portion my son's beingness is gone.”
In Jacob Munoz’s case, DA Moreno says she is hopeful that the insignificant accused of Munoz's decease volition person the maximum condemnation allowed nether existent law, and hopes the question of moms successful the vale volition continue.
“I privation them each success,” Moreno said of the protestors. “Because Prop 57 was a proposition, it'll astir apt person to beryllium different proposition that changes it. These radical being heard and these radical protesting is the commencement of thing that could alteration it and could marque it amended successful the future.”
The adjacent protestation is planned successful Fresno, wherever a tribunal proceeding is scheduled for the teens accused of sidesplitting Caleb Quick.
