One Teen's Fate: The Math of a 100-Year Sentence

By: Teresa Chin
SAN FRANCISCO -- Should a judge be able to sentence a 16-year-old to 110 years in prison if he didn’t actually kill anyone? That is the question behind the court case The People vs. Rodrigo Caballero, which began opening statements before the California State Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon.

In June 2007, then 16-year-old Rodrigo Caballero allegedly fired several shots at three Palmdale teenagers, one of whom suffered a non-fatal but serious injury. Caballero was convicted of three counts of attempted murder – each with a minimum sentence of 15 years-to-life – as well as three special enhancements for firing a gun, belonging to a gang, and greatly injuring one of his victims.

Under California law, certain factors in association with a crime trigger automatic sentence extensions called “enhancements.” These enhancements can greatly extend an offender’s time in prison, particularly when there are multiple victims involved, because he has to serve them consecutively. In Caballero’s case, his enhancements amounted to 110 years in prison (for details on this sentence, see the graphic “110 years-to-life.”)

(How do you end up with a hundred year sentence? Based on information provided by attorney David Durchfort)

Caballero’s case is one of several recent appeals that involve juveniles being sentenced to extraordinarily long sentences for non-murder offenses. In another California case, a 14-year-old was sentenced to 170 years without parole for aggravated kidnapping. According to attorney David Durchfort, who argued on behalf of Caballero’s appeal, California has the highest number of any state of minors serving life-without-parole sentences.

While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that it is unconstitutional to sentence a minor to “life without parole” except for homicide, cases like Caballero’s fall under a gray area based on the wording of the law. Even though Caballero will almost certainly die in prison before he is eligible for parole (at the age of 126), his sentence may still be considered constitutional because it does not explicitly contain the magic words “life without parole.”

Nationally, juveniles can still be sentenced to life without parole if they are convicted of murder. But this may soon change depending on the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling on a pair of cases, Miller and Jackson. The U.S. Supreme Court banned the death penalty for juveniles back in 2005.

Originally published on Youthradio.org, the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe.

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Comments

[JBS]

06:00 PM on 06/05/2012

So, how much time off should he get for incompetence?

[PickedName]

05:48 AM on 06/03/2012

This is a perfect example of why I dislike "enhancements". Assault, for example, you punch someone in the face. Perhaps they're a different race? Racial enhancement. Perhaps they're gay, there's another enhancement. A woman too, and so perhaps a domestic violence bit tacked on. Furthermore, there's often a slew of lesser charges, so you commit a crime and find there's a dozen extra things you're charged with that nobody has really heard of. Yet, when you really get down to it...it's still just one thing, assault, you punched someone in the face.

Why can't we just charge it as that? These things have added up to the point of absurdity, and now it leads to plea bargains because you're looking at a HUGE amount of prison time, and that plea bargin looks much better even if you're innocent. Who wants to risk going up against a baker's dozen of charges to more than a hundred years in prison, when you can plea out to 5 plus parole?

This isn't how it was supposed to be. Thanks, "tough on crime" politicians, your little changes have added up to a mess.

[dbrett480]

12:18 PM on 06/05/2012

It's much more complicated than you make it out to be.

[Susan Cadis]

01:15 AM on 06/03/2012

The system is broken. The Prison INDUSTRY does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners. The punishment is the sentence you receive, not to be punished further once you are there. The money that is spent on these institutions to provide some sort of rehab is like giving money to a bank robber. Restorative Justice is what is needed not more lock them up and throw away the key. But just like any INDUSTRY don't threaten to change the good old boys network. They will fight to keep it just as dysfunctional as it is.

[spiffy nid]

09:37 PM on 06/02/2012

It seems that this could be considered a cruel and unusual punishment. I think that he should serve time, but 110 is a bit excessive.

[atallblondgenius]

07:10 PM on 06/02/2012

if he hadn't been such a lousy shot he could have killed all three victims. At 16 you know very well what your doing and what the consequences could be. This kid got off to a bad start for any number of reasons. But he liked the bad boy he found as beng in his little gang, maybe recognition, acceptance, probably something he wasn't getting from school or home. He has totally destroyed his life and any chance of a structured life. But this is the price he'll pay for nearly ending the lives of three. As sad as this whole thing is he has it coming.

[Malibu1369]

08:29 PM on 06/07/2012

Seriously? At 16 he cannot vote, he cannot drink, he cannot have sex with whom he wishes, he cannot serve in the armed forces, drive a car with minors in the vehicle. He cannot ditch school, smoke cigarettes, buy spray paint, chose where to live, purchase glue... Yet you claim he knew what he was doing. You are a perpetrator of everything hypocritical in our society. He is old enough for you to sentence him to a long, slow, violent death, but young enough to be called a "child" under any other circumstances. Ballocks!

[atallblondgenius]

08:49 AM on 06/09/2012

Seriously! At 16 they cannot vote but they do drink. And they do have sex. Yes, too young to join the service but old enought to drive at 15 As for ditchng school; I didn't realize there was an age requirement to ditch school. But at age 16 , by law they are old enough to quit school. At 16 they are not old enough to purchase cigarettes but old enough that they smoke them. They can't buy spray paint but they find it and vandalize our community with graffiti. Many "children" have already made the choice to leave home by 16 and they flop wherever they choose. And yes they are not old enough to purchase glue. But at sixteen they know all about sniffing and huffing. And finally 16 year old "children" know very well that guns kill. Grade school children know that guns kill
When that 16 year old pulled that trigger his intent was to kill. He sentenced himself .
Hell yes my claim is that he knew exactly what he was doing. However I'm not so sure about you.

[SuzDuJour]

03:08 PM on 06/02/2012

I say let him out...but he has to live in Florida...

[morenaluv8208]

02:19 PM on 06/02/2012

where the heck are his parents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[giagul]

01:19 PM on 06/02/2012

it is sad. people that rape and kill children get less years. this guy didnt kill anyone, hurt 1 person , get 110 years.

[Danielle Marie Sweeney]

11:58 AM on 06/02/2012

Prison can't rehabilitate. Lets be real. It's just punishment. It just makes offenders more angry and violent. If you can't get a job with a record you can't improve your life. Hurt people hurt people. That's why its easier to lock the poor up and take away their right to vote then to give them opportunities that would improve society as a whole.

[Danielle Marie Sweeney]

11:45 AM on 06/02/2012

Give kids Jobs, Education and a chance. This American Society is SICK. Prison does not fix societies problems. Look at the real Truth. SUPER RICH CONTROL THE WORLD AND LETS EVERYONE ELSE FIGHT FOR CRIME. Companies, politicians and BANKERS and THE EVIL SUPER RICH FAMILIES THAT CONTROL THE WORLD. All kids watch is violence, the government flaunts the killing and murder of people all over the world and glorifies it, there are no jobs. You will pay 60k a year to lock someone up but spend less then 10k to educate a child. Schools are failing, the government enslaves its citizens, minimum wage is inhumane based on the rising costs of living. Give me a break 110 years for growing up to be what his country made him.

[markspence]

03:06 AM on 06/04/2012

Was there anything his family could have done to counter the effects the country had on him?

[dbrett480]

12:21 PM on 06/05/2012

That doesn't help at all. People who say jobs and education prevent people from joining gangs don't know what they are talking about. People join gangs to gain a sense of respect they don't get elsewhere. So working as a fry cook at McDonald's or going to school ain't going to stop you from being a Crip or a Blood.

[lecloche]

08:10 PM on 06/05/2012

So tell us how it did not stop you. And are you a Crip or a Blood?

[Bueno Hombre]

09:26 AM on 06/02/2012

Tough, Tough, question. The number of repeat offenders suggest rehabilitation does not work. Lengthy sentences (punishment) does not seem to deter crime. The death sentence does not seem to deter crime. Incarceration is enormously expensive and takes budget money away from other services.

Lots of suggestions pertain to "prevention" such as education, returning to the old time religion, increasing the number of jobs, economic support, single parent homes, drug programs, better pay, pre-school, after school activities, sports, etc. All have sucess stories and all have failures. Just doesn't seem to be an answer.

[tracerhaha1]

03:41 PM on 06/03/2012

"The number of repeat offenders suggest rehabilitation does not work."

The purpose of the prison system is punishment not rehabilitation.

[Helen Fowler]

05:08 PM on 06/04/2012

"The purpose of the prison system is punishment not rehabilitation." The shift from rehab to punishment in the '70's is when the system started to spin out of control. I want a better return on investment than the present costly and ineffective system. More community resources could have prevented a tragedy like this. Time after the fact is no deterrent. I know because I have dealt w/ thousands of youth as an educator. There is a better way!

[John Olson]

07:50 AM on 06/02/2012

The reason the laws assess such lengthy sentences is that parolees commit so many crimes and the only practical way ever discovered to keep them from it is incarceration. We tried rehabilitation and the murder rate tripled. Now we're trying lengthy sentences for violent crimes and the murder rates has drastically fallen. It takes an act of willful blindness and denial of facts worthy of a Birther to see no connection between the two.

[PickedName]

05:55 AM on 06/03/2012

Correleation does not imply causation. Your reasoning is off. Yet, from the sound of your post, I'm judging it a waste of time to try to lead you to the why of it. Figure it out yourself if you're interested, just pointing it out.

[foulkeblows]

07:00 AM on 06/02/2012

"According to attorney David Durchfort, who argued on behalf of Caballero’s appeal, California has the highest number of any state of minors serving life-without-parole sentences. "

California also has the largest population, by far of any state in the Union.

[Malibu1369]

09:51 PM on 06/07/2012

Per Capita, that levels the playing field, but you knew this, didn't you. You did your due diligent research, right? You just didn't make an off the cuff statement like so many people do, right?

[Bobotheclown]

11:58 PM on 06/01/2012

Why not just sentence everyone to 1000 years in jail for every crime? The one penalty fits all crimes law will make the court system much cheaper and the law and order stance will make all conservatives sleep well at night. Until they fail to pay that next parking ticket that is.

[foulkeblows]

07:01 AM on 06/02/2012

Are you equating the attempted murder of 3 people with getting a parking ticket?? Ridiculous argument. Bobotheclown is a good name for you.

[Bobotheclown]

09:30 AM on 06/02/2012

NO. I'm saying that the justice system already does.

[PickedName]

05:56 AM on 06/03/2012

No need, we codified that trials aren't required anymore, remember?

[Bobotheclown]

03:10 PM on 06/03/2012

Actually, that is true. The President (any President) now has the power to have any citizen arrested and held indefinately at an undisclosed location. That citizen will be subject to enhanced interrogation (torture light) for the rest of his life or until the President decides to release him. There is no provision for a lawyer in this situation as there are no charges and no future court case is applicable. A released citizen has no right to redress in the courts and no access to information about his detention or interrogation since it is covered by national security immunity. The President is not limited in the number of suspects he can detain under this law. All of this is perfectly legal in today's America and these powers have been reauthorized by Congress and upheld by the Supreme Court. How all of this squares with the Fourth Amendment (search and seizure), Sixth Amendment (speedy trial), or Article 1, Section 9 (habius corpus) is a mystery since they all violate the plain language of those texts. But we seem to live in a world where judges can say that a thing says what they say it means and not what the language says it means, and no one seems to notice. I wonder if and when these over reaches will raise an alarm? Certainly the few who have been imprisoned under them already are alarmed but the rest of us seem to think it can't happen to us. I wonder why?

[liberalpolicysucks]

10:11 PM on 06/01/2012

I see no problem.