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Habeas Petitioner Sentenced to Adult Prison When a Juvenile Denied Relief

By Shari Allison

Gonzales v. Tafoya, --- F.3d ----, 2008 WL 307971 (10th Cir. Feb. 5, 2008).Petitioner was a passive, small, 14 year old who had long suffered from, among other things, bipolar disorder, depression, and ADD, when along with an older juvenile, he broke into the house of a couple they thought were not home. When the couple unexpectedly returned, Petitioner shot the man in the chest, and the other boy shot the man in the head to kill him. Petitioner eventually pleaded guilty as a juvenile to second degree murder, burglary, assault and battery. The sentencing court followed the New Mexico dispositional statute which permitted the court to sentence a juvenile who has committed certain serious crimes as an adult if ?(1) the child is not amenable to treatment or rehabilitation as a child in available facilities? and (2) ?the child is not eligible for commitment to an institution for the developmentally disordered or mentally disabled...continue to full post

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on February 12, 2008 (boomark / email).