JEFFERSON CITY — Close to 60 offenders convicted of second-degree murder that they committed when they were younger than 18 could lose a chance at early parole under legislation being considered by state lawmakers.
A law passed last year states that juveniles sentenced to long terms could get a chance at early parole after serving 15 years in prison.
However, it does not apply to youths convicted of first-degree murder. The new bill, Senate Bill 664, sponsored by Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, would add minors guilty of second-degree murder to the category of youths ineligible for early parole.
First-degree murder is defined as unlawful killing that is both intentional and premeditated; second-degree is intentional murder that lacks premeditation. Both being Class A felonies, they fall under the same punishment under state statute, ranging from a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 30 years.
In the historic Miller v. Alabama ruling, the court held that children function differently from adults. It stated that mandatory sentences of life without parole are unconstitutional for juvenile convicts.
Matt Morris, legislative staff member in Bernskoetter’s office, told the Missourian that the bill does not make incarcerated youths subject to mandatory life without parole — they would have to serve their original sentence or 85% of the same before they are able to get any parole hearings. The proposed bill simply adds that youths convicted of second-degree murder would not be able to get early parole eligibility as they currently are.
Amy Breihan, co-director of the Missouri office of the nonprofit MacArthur Justice Center, put forward a similar argument as the Supreme Court verdict when testifying to a Senate committee earlier this year.
She said that the part of the brain that controls practical, reasoned decision-making continues developing well into adolescence and even into someone’s 20s sometimes. Due to this, minors can be impetuous or less deterred by punishment, vulnerable to pressures and less able to extricate themselves.
“This is not a simple matter of a child knowing what’s right or wrong, but a matter of how difficult it is for them to stop, think clearly and make rational decisions,” said Breihan, whose work has revolved around advocating for fair parole opportunities for over nine years.
Breihan referred to statistics about recidivism and how people gradually age out of crime once they are in their 30s or 40s. She cited studies conducted in Arizona and Philadelphia about convicted minors who were closely followed for seven years after their release. It was found that the risk to reoffend for juveniles serving lengthy time for felonies was minuscule in those instances.
Bernskoetter said that he was moved to sponsor the bill in light of the 2009 murder of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten at the hands of her then 15-year-old neighbor, Alyssa Bustamante. Bustamante killed Olten by strangulation, slitting her throat and stabbing her in the chest eight times. She was indicted on first-degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012.
Olten’s father, Gary Bemboom, said that Bustamante’s prosecutor made her a plea deal to the lesser charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. This would mean that she would be eligible for parole in the next five years, after having completed 15 years.
“I am asking you to rewrite the existing bill or pass this new bill Sen. Bernskoetter has, to keep Elizabeth’s killer in prison,” Bemboom said. “As a father, I feel like I didn’t do my job to protect her.”
Justin Kammerich was a corrections officer at the state prison in Jefferson City and was fatally shot by Jahuan Whirley in December 2018. Whirley was 16 at the time and had demanded cash from Kammerich before shooting him.
His brother, Jeff Kammerich, said that Whirley was charged with second-degree murder and six other counts. However, he was released on bond within a week. The Kammerich family has been going through the trial since, which kept getting pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It has been three years of just back and forth and a never-ending process of suffering,” he said. “This bill brings peace of mind to the victims and the families who are already fighting the court battles constantly.”
Rose Ridnour lost her mother, Lee Ann Carroll, at the hands of a minor when she was 4 years old. Carroll was shot in the back and left face-down on the floor of a gas station in 1989. One of the two perpetrators was Rayvon Gibbs — a juvenile at the time of the incident.
Ridnour and her brother showed up to every hearing, even if it meant driving in horrible weather conditions, leaving behind a sick child at home or even their dying father.
“We begged, told our story and relived all the moments we missed out on with our mother,” Ridnour said. “But for a juvenile offender, so many of the boxes don’t apply.”
Four days before the committee hearing, the Missouri Department of Corrections Parole Board released Gibbs. He had served 32 of his originally sentenced 107 years.
“When did Missouri stop holding criminals accountable for their crimes and start looking for ways to release the offenders that have committed some of the worst crimes?” she asked the committee.
Ridnour said that when she talked to people within the Corrections Department, most of them knew of Gibbs and his crime. Not a single person remembered her mother’s name.
“These crimes are not victimless,” Ridnour said. “I beg this committee to remember this as they hear other bills aimed at releasing murderers.”
Kimberley Beshear also gave her support for the bill, having long served victims of crime as a coordinator for the Missouri Department of Corrections.
“I’ll be the first to admit that our system is broken,” Beshear said. “It’s swinging the pendulum back and forth based on the political climate and whims of those who just never fixed our system.”
Nimrod Chapel Jr., president of the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP, testified in opposition. He said the bill is simply rehashing something that has already been decided, citing the Supreme Court ruling in the Miller v. Alabama case.
He also echoed similar concerns as Breihan.
“Trying to hold children to the same standards as adults does not promote rehabilitation,” Chapel said. “This is a penal measure and does nothing to improve citizenry or meet the objectives of the Department of Corrections.”
Chapel said that he also feels Bernskoetter’s bill might face legal challenges if passed.
“It is in violation of Supreme Court precedent, and they should not be subject to that penalty,” he said.
