Life sentences thrown out for three juvenile murderers. 23 more could be next.

It’s considered a big step for juvenile justice advocates.  Those favoring tough sentences are not pleased, even if they knew it was coming.

Image Courtesy Photo.com

Douglas Mantich, Eric Ramirez, and Juan Castaneda all committed murder.  They were also teenagers at the time and sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison.  Two years ago the rules changed when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that no juvenile should be handed a mandatory life sentence.  It was considered cruel and unusual punishment.

Nebraska had been slower than some states to follow the Supreme Court’s mandate.  That changed today.

All three inmates had their life sentences overturned by the Nebraska Supreme Court.  Each will not get a new sentencing hearing in the District Court which found them guilty and sent them to jail.  The three will be the first inmates given reduced sentences since the federal court ruling and a resulting change in Nebraska state law ending life sentences for juveniles.

Today’s rulings will likely lead to hearings for 23 others also put away for life when they were still juveniles.  The key was the ruling in Mantich’s case, in which a majority of the court stated that even though the U.S. Supreme Court made its decision only two years ago, it applies retroactively to convictions handed out years earlier.  Two justices in the minority strongly dissented.

It appears all 26 inmates facing a life sentence have filed briefs to have their sentences reviewed, according to the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, which is handling some of the case.  There may be additional delays in setting hearing dates while attorneys wait to see if the state Supreme Court allows a review of today’s rulings.

The cases sent back today for re-sentencing (click on the link to read the rulings).

• Douglas Mantich was 16-years-old living in Omaha when he was involved in a gang-related murder of Henry Thompson in 1993.

• Juan Castaneda and Eric Ramirez were both convicted of several charges related to three separate shootings that occurred in Omaha in 2008.  They were part of a group involved in the killing of Luis Silva and Tari Glinsmann during a series of robberies.  Castaneda was 15-years-old at the time. Ramirez was 17.

  

  Eric Mantich, Eric Ramirez, Juan Castaneda (Dept. of Corrections)

  
  

Can a big company get a protection order against someone who shot at their building?

Nobody argues with this part:  a guy with a gun fired off five shots with a pistol on the grounds of ConAgra’s headquarters in downtown Omaha. It was 5 A.M. and nobody got hurt, but it was a close call for the window washing crew on duty. The guy with the gun was apparently mad at his wife who had filed for divorce. She’s a manager at Con Agra and wasn't there at time. She’d already gotten a protection order against him.  The guy with the gun was hauled off, found guilty, and spent a few weeks in jail. This all happened early last year.

Here’s the part that landed this before the Nebraska Supreme Court: Should Con Agra be allowed to get a permanent restraining order against the guy with the gun? Right now it’s pretty much untested in Nebraska law. A person… like the wife of the guy with the gun… can get protection. It’s murky if an entity, like a multi-national, agri-business conglomerate, has the same privilege.    

The second big question: even if Con Agra could get a restraining order, is what the guy with the gun did that morning bad enough to warrant the court ordering him to stay off any of their properties for a year. A district court judge in Douglas County already said no to ConAgra. 

The Nebraska Supreme Court was asked to throw out the lower courts decision and both sides had their day in court today.  

      Here’s ConAgra's case:

• Ryan Zimmerman (the guy who had the gun) became a threat the minute he pulled the trigger. As Con Agra argued in its court filing:  “firing a single shot on land owned by another should be held to be sufficient; firing five shots should be held to be more than enough for an injunction in this case.”

• There were other reasons: police seized seven rifles and three handguns from him, and a judge issued protection orders keeping him away from his wife, his kids, and a friend of his wife. 

• ConAgra sent Zimmerman what’s called a ban and bar letter. (Click here to read how the Omaha Police Department handles these cases).  ConAgra says that only goes so far. A restraining order adds the power of the courts, sending an even stronger message with stronger penalties.

Here’s Zimmerman's case: 

• ConAgra isn’t at risk anymore. There was only one incident at ConAgra and the wife hasn’t reported any violations of her protection order since the gunplay. The brief filed in the case calls it “a theoretical injury.” 

• If Zimmerman violates the conditions of the ban and bar letter he could be thrown in jail anyway.

•  As a matter of law it’s too big a change in how these things have been historically handled in Nebraska.  Neither side could find any substantial cases in this state in which a corporation got this kind of restraining order. 

Justice William Cassel wondered aloud during the session if ConAgra wasn’t asking the high court to reverse 100 years of legal precedent. 

One of the justices, appearing genuinely perplexed, asked Zimmerman’s attorney why his client was “contesting this so vigorously?” The attorney, Mike Wilson, replied “There are notions of justice in play here” that went beyond fighting against a restraining order. After all, Ryan Zimmerman doesn’t even have any need to visit ConAgra.

We’ll have the court’s decision posted here when it comes out, probably in three or four months.

Nebraska Ranks #1 In Rate of Black Homicides

The report came out the same day North Omaha held the funeral for 5-year-old Payton Benson; killed by a random bullet fired during a gun battle outside her home.  

A national organization campaigning against gun violence, The Violence Policy Center, released a study claiming Nebraska "leads the nation in the rate of black homicide." The study, based on FBI crime statistics from 2011, the most recent data available, puts the states murder rate for African Americans in the state at a rate of 34.43 per 100,000.  The organization said at the numbers place Nebraska's rate at "nearly two times the national black homicide victimization rate and more than seven times the overall homicide victimization rate nationwide."
(Read the full report here.)

There were states with many more total murders of black residents (Michigan totaled 447 compared to Nebraska's 30) but the study uses the number of deaths in comparison to the population as its basis for the claim.   Other points raised by the Center's study:

• Of the 28 black homicide victims killed with guns, 89 percent (25 victims) were killed with handguns. There were 2 victims killed with firearms where the type of gun was not stated. There were 2 victims killed with knives or other cutting instruments.

• Two black homicide victims (7 percent) were less than 18 years old. The average age was 28 years old.

• For homicides in which the victim to offender relationship could be identified, 78 percent of black homicide victims (7 out of 9) were murdered by someone they knew. Two victims were killed by strangers.

• For homicides in which the circumstances could be identified, 94 percent (17 out of 18) were not related to the commission of any other felony. Of these, 18 percent (3 homicides) involved arguments between the victim and the offender.