Attorney challenges life sentences for juveniles

Viewers of this newscast will notice that the age of violent criminals appears to be reaching ever lower. And while not all perpetrators are convicted, when a minor is found guilty of murder the mandatory sentence is a minimum of life imprisonment. For a teenager that’s a long time behind bars. Too long, according to attorney Antoinette Moore, who today filed a constitutional motion that would give judges more leeway in sentencing. She is claiming that her clients, Anthony Bowen and David Jones, ages seventeen and sixteen respectively when they were convicted of murder, have had their rights seriously violated.

Antoinette Moore
“The reason that they were sentenced to life is because under our law currently it is the mandatory sentence for any juvenile convicted of murder. We are filing constitutional claims on behalf of these two persons alleging that their constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment has been violated and their constitutional right to life in essence has been violated.”

Janelle Chanona
“How do you think this would square with the public knowing the crime wave, especially Belize City is currently gripped with?”

Antoinette Moore
“It’s a very sensitive issue and certainly I, just as all other Belizeans, am quite aware and extremely concerned about the murder rate in particular the increasing violence in our city. And most particularly it does seem that there are young people who are the offenders and young people who are the victims. However, I think we must take that aside and look at rights of all individuals, the rights of those who certainly are the victims, but also the rights of those who are the offenders. And because juveniles, persons under eighteen, have the most possibility of rehabilitation and reform, it is actually accepted internationally that they should not be subjected to life sentences, nor should they be subjected to death sentences. And of course Belize has eliminated the death sentence for juveniles, but they have not eliminated the life sentence. And if Belize’s law had a life sentence but there was a term of years that the juvenile would serve and then that sentence would be reviewed, that would be more permissible. But under our law as it currently stands, there is no review of the sentence whatsoever. I think that we can’t separate the rights of individuals from the current situation, but neither do I think can we allow breaches of people’s rights because there’s a wave of violent crime in our city.”