qwerty
02-25-2006, 07:48 PM
I can't begin to describe this awesome series from the Denver Post, so I've posted a list of articles that ran last week. This series has inspired legislators to propose new laws that would finally give juvie lifers a chance at parole.
To read the series go to: http://www.denverpost.com/teencrime
Day 1: Converging laws put kids away forever
Post / Glenn Asakawa
With 45 people now locked away forever for crimes committed when they were younger than 18, Colorado ranks 11th in the nation for the rate at which life sentences are imposed on juveniles. The process that put them away has struck a nerve. FULL STORY, PHOTOS, GRAPHICS & MORE
Flawed investigation, cloudy truths
Special
The Greeley police detective shoved his chair closer to the teen in the baseball cap and accused him of murdering 78-year-old Frida Winter four years earlier. But the Greeley teen, Sam Mandez, denied any involvement or knowledge of the crime. FULL STORY, PHOTOS & EXTRAS
Day 2: Felony murder: "legal fiction"?
Post / Glenn Asakawa
It began with a simple plan: Trevor Jones would scam a kid out of $100 and then just walk away. But the night of Nov. 21, 1996, ultimately revolved around a loaded gun. Jones, 17, fired a single shot - accidentally, he claims - that struck 16-year- old Matthew Foley in the head and killed him. Jones is serving life without parole. FULL STORY, PHOTOS & EXTRAS
Day 3: Scars of abuse concealed
Post / Glenn Asakawa
The secrets of Nathan Ybanez's home life began spilling out in late 1997. The 15-year-old told friends his dad was beating him. Parents of a schoolmate alerted police that they believed he was being abused. And one night, Ybanez called the Douglas County Sheriff's Office himself after wandering the streets for two days. He asked to be removed from his home. The deputy instead returned Ybanez to his mother. Eight months later, the boy killed her. FULL STORY, PHOTOS & EXTRAS
Day 4: Door shut on "throwaways"
Post / Glenn Asakawa
Near the end of a day cruising northeast Denver and Aurora while draining three 40-ounce bottles and a six-pack of beer, 16-year-old Dietrick Mitchell turned a corner. Seconds later, the car he was driving slammed into 17-year-old Danny Goetsch as he walked in the gutter along East 13th Avenue with two friends. FULL STORY, PHOTOS & EXTRAS
MORE TEEN CRIME, ADULT CRIME HEADLINES
# Demands for change echo at statehouse
# Taking a gamble on their fate
# Seeking another chance through appeal
# Colorado judge shaped system
# Offenders return to society has bright outlook
# Man who killed mother says system flawed
# Judges in both cases troubled by end results
# Research sees changing teen brain
# Document showing Ybanez's request to be removed from his home
# Excerpts of letters from Nathan Ybanez to The Denver Post
# A poem by Nathan Ybanez
# A poem by Chris Selectman
# Book excerpt by Erik Jensen
# Copy of bank checks Frida Winter wrote to Sam Mandez
# Colorado inmates sentenced to life without parole when they were teenagers
# Crime scene notes from the Frida Winters murder
To read the series go to: http://www.denverpost.com/teencrime
Day 1: Converging laws put kids away forever
Post / Glenn Asakawa
With 45 people now locked away forever for crimes committed when they were younger than 18, Colorado ranks 11th in the nation for the rate at which life sentences are imposed on juveniles. The process that put them away has struck a nerve. FULL STORY, PHOTOS, GRAPHICS & MORE
Flawed investigation, cloudy truths
Special
The Greeley police detective shoved his chair closer to the teen in the baseball cap and accused him of murdering 78-year-old Frida Winter four years earlier. But the Greeley teen, Sam Mandez, denied any involvement or knowledge of the crime. FULL STORY, PHOTOS & EXTRAS
Day 2: Felony murder: "legal fiction"?
Post / Glenn Asakawa
It began with a simple plan: Trevor Jones would scam a kid out of $100 and then just walk away. But the night of Nov. 21, 1996, ultimately revolved around a loaded gun. Jones, 17, fired a single shot - accidentally, he claims - that struck 16-year- old Matthew Foley in the head and killed him. Jones is serving life without parole. FULL STORY, PHOTOS & EXTRAS
Day 3: Scars of abuse concealed
Post / Glenn Asakawa
The secrets of Nathan Ybanez's home life began spilling out in late 1997. The 15-year-old told friends his dad was beating him. Parents of a schoolmate alerted police that they believed he was being abused. And one night, Ybanez called the Douglas County Sheriff's Office himself after wandering the streets for two days. He asked to be removed from his home. The deputy instead returned Ybanez to his mother. Eight months later, the boy killed her. FULL STORY, PHOTOS & EXTRAS
Day 4: Door shut on "throwaways"
Post / Glenn Asakawa
Near the end of a day cruising northeast Denver and Aurora while draining three 40-ounce bottles and a six-pack of beer, 16-year-old Dietrick Mitchell turned a corner. Seconds later, the car he was driving slammed into 17-year-old Danny Goetsch as he walked in the gutter along East 13th Avenue with two friends. FULL STORY, PHOTOS & EXTRAS
MORE TEEN CRIME, ADULT CRIME HEADLINES
# Demands for change echo at statehouse
# Taking a gamble on their fate
# Seeking another chance through appeal
# Colorado judge shaped system
# Offenders return to society has bright outlook
# Man who killed mother says system flawed
# Judges in both cases troubled by end results
# Research sees changing teen brain
# Document showing Ybanez's request to be removed from his home
# Excerpts of letters from Nathan Ybanez to The Denver Post
# A poem by Nathan Ybanez
# A poem by Chris Selectman
# Book excerpt by Erik Jensen
# Copy of bank checks Frida Winter wrote to Sam Mandez
# Colorado inmates sentenced to life without parole when they were teenagers
# Crime scene notes from the Frida Winters murder