A message from LeVar Aikens. LeVar’s story can be found on a previous post on our blog.
“Derrick Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years for killing George Floyd. He was sentenced to less time than me, and he could be out in 15 years. I’ve already served 10 years OVER that. This isn’t about race. This is the injustice of this system. This is about what is right and what is wrong.
I was 16 years old with no criminal history. Derrick Chauvin was a grown adult. I was raised in and stuck in an abusive environment. Derrick Chauvin was raised in a good environment. I had a hung jury during my first trial, because there was enough reasonable doubt that the jury couldn’t make a decision. Derrick Chauvin was recorded committing murder. My prosecutor withheld evidence and committed misconduct to get a conviction in my second trial. Derrick Chauvin had a fair prosecutor.
Derrick Chauvin was a trained, mature Adult. I was an abused, traumatized kid. So how is it the KID, is sentenced to life without parole, and the Adult is sentenced to 22 years? Why is it the KID, doesn’t get out in 15 years, and the Adult does? Why is it the KID, has already been in prison longer than the sentence the Adult was just given?
This is the norm, and it’s wrong. This is a serious problem in our society and this system. We are failing our youth–Our kids. If a kid steals your car, and an adult steals your car, who should get the most time? If a kid keeps committing crimes and an adult keeps committing crimes, who has the best chance of turning their life around? If a kid kills someone and an adult kills someone, who deserves the most time?
Anytime a human life is lost, it is a tragedy. Period. And whoever committed murder deserves to taken out of society for a point of time–even a kid. But let’s not act like there isn’t a difference in crimes, in circumstances, and a difference in KIDS and Adults. An Adult means what they are doing, whereas a KID may not or does not.
A KID should be placed in an abuse, trauma treatment facility to get help, not in a savage adult prison. And there are even some adults who commit murder that shouldn’t go to prison.
If a woman is getting beat and abused by her spouse and feels she has no way out, and then she kills her spouse, she should be sent to an abuse recovery facility for a certain amount of years, not a dehumanizing prison.
For some twisted reason, the injustice system feels abused and victimized KIDS, (and women) deserve to be thrown away for life. For some twisted reason, the injustice system feels grown ass adults deserve to get a chance to live a meaningful life, then kill someone, and get out in time to have a second chance to still live and enjoy a meaningful life. Oh, and by the way, that same grown ass adult who made a rationale decision to go to prison, is most likely to re-offend, while the KID is the LEAST LIKELY TO REOFFEND.
And if you bring it up in court today, (which I have) they will tell you the law says you cannot bring it up now and receive justice, because you should have brought it up when you were going through it as a KID! But if it’s in the law books that a juvenile is not competent to advise his/her attorney, and that a juvenile brain is not fully developed, then why is there a law preventing you from bringing up all you went through, to review it all and allow you to receive a fair sentence and be released?
If a 16 year old You were convicted of murder, would you deserve to die in prison? Would You deserve to do more time than an adult? If Your 16 year old son or daughter was convicted of murder, would they deserve to die in prison? Would they deserve to do more time than an adult? We all know what the answer is. So why is the opposite still taking place?
It’s sad that I’m even having to write this. Because when we are talking about humanity, forgiveness, redemption, God’s grace, justice, and just plain old fashioned Right and Wrong, how is this still going on in Our society? Abused and victimized KIDS aren’t given a first chance to live and enjoy a meaningful life. They are thrown in adult prisons and left to suffer until they die.
Help fix this injustice.
Take Care and God Bless,
LeVar Aikens
#532829
ERDCC”
