by William Curl, California State Prison, Corcoran
Three months after my 18th birthday, I was arrested for a gang-related murder. After reviewing my extensive juvenile record, the judge peered over his glasses at my sentencing and said, “it’s obvious society has failed you, young man, and I won’t repeat the same mistake…I sentence you to Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP).” Legally, I wasn’t mature enough to buy alcohol or cigarettes, but his ruling made it clear I wasn’t redeemable as a human being.
I’ll never forget questioning my self worth. It creates an ache in the soul that you’re afraid nothing in this existence could ease. For decades, that’s where I’ve been emotionally: trying to identify my purpose after being labeled a super predator and sentenced to hopelessness. As horrible as that sounds, in hindsight, I deserved nothing less than the firing squad for the callous disregard I had for human life. I now understand that I lacked the emotional maturity to propery process the shame-fear, in my ten-year-old self, after being assaulted-robbed for my bike. I can still feel-see myself crying in the street, swearing never to allow anybody to make me feel like a coward again. That’s the day I put on a mask (low self-esteem). To be honest, that infamous “Super Predator” smear came shamefully close to describing who I was, but……even with that honest insight, I point to insecurities, not some evil disposition, that influenced my warped way of thinking (criminality). Hurt people hurting people is generational.
Speaking of hurt people, LWOPs have been engaged in an uphill battle reestablishing our community ties. It took decades, but LWOPs have finally transformed that worst of the worst narrative in the communities we helped destroy with living examples of our transformations. The community has welcomed us with open arms, and asked the legislators to author bills acknowledging these positive transformations LWOP said was impossible.
In fact, a 2022 study found similar levels of public support for providing a second look at prison sentences for crimes committed under age 18, as well as for those committted under age 25 (Hannan, Kr et al, “2023 public support for second look sentencing”). The same community that asked the legislators to get “tough on crime”, when record homicide numbers justified the “lock ‘em up, throw away the key” mentality, are the same community members asking for bills acknowledging the growth and development exemplified throughout the LWOP population. Why has the legislator stopped listening to the people?
I ask because the authorities in this country have a rich history of using words/phrases that mimic ideals of justice, equality, while crafting laws targeting minorities and robbing the system of any perceived justice. We have to start looking beyond the words to see the actions attached.
In 2013, the lawmakers created Youth Offender Parole (YOP) under penal code 3051 after a series of court decisions identifying 8th Amendment limits on sentencing juveniles to death by incarceration (DBI). The wisdom in these rulings expressed that juveniles are constitutionally-emotionally different from adults, because of three distinct features: immaturity, impulsivity, and failure to appreciate risk + consequence. These features diminish a teenager’s moral culpability and increases the chances that reckless behavior can be reformed with age. In 2015, the same legislators decided to raise the YOP age to 25 after the scientific community confirmed that neurological development in the prefrontal cortex, which is relevant to judgement-decision making, continues to develop until age 25.
Recently, Senate Bill 672 lost its identity in the Assembly’s mask of exclusions. This negatively affects large portions of the LWOP Population. Again, I have to ask if the Supreme Court in Miller V. Alabama 567 and the legislator have both acknowledged, “there is no plausible basis for distinguishing between same-age offenders based solely on the crime committed.” I’m not understanding why bills like 672 are still failing to pass because of specific crime exclusions. Even with all the data, the legislators still haven’t figured out how to hold YOP LWOPs accountable without ignoring the human duty to be empathetic, compassionate, fair, and just.
There is no hope or humanity in LWOP. Even with that dark reality, I remain an optimist. In this mindset, I would hate to assume that despite having access to numbers that clearly showcase our innate ability to completely transform through mental, emotional, and spiritual reawakening, the legislators are still dedicated to that “Lock ‘em up, throw away the key” mentality. Maybe, they simply aren’t aware that:
- In 2014, the European Court on Human Rights declared LWOP unconstitutional in all of Europe.
- In 2021, the Penal Code Revision Committee formed by Governor Newsom recommended that LWOPs get reviewed by a Parole Board after 25 years (Penal Code Revision Committee Report, 2021).
- In 2023, the United Naitons Human Rights Committee recommended that the U.S. establish a moratorium on LWOP and all DBI sentences (Human Rights Committee, 2023). The report goes on to say, “without the chance of parole, the prison system negates any stated purpose of rehabilitation, reducing it to a tool of segregation/exploitation.”
- In 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Court abolished LWOP for 18-20 year olds.
- Over 62% of LWOPs were under 26, making LWOPs the youngest group in California prisons. LWOPs have the lowest risk assessment score in the CDCR.
Speaking of scores, recidivism numbers have always been in the 80% range. This justified creation and passage of DBI legislation. For decades, no murderers were paroled. There was no data to say if they could be reformed or not. Recidivism numbers for non-lifers were used to manipulate society into believing rehabilitation wasn’t possible. Over 300 LWOPs have been released through commutation or resentencing, with no one returning. Recidivism for LWOPs is 1% (I just want to give back; the REintegration of people sentenced to LWOP).
If those numbers don’t change perspectives about LWOP reform, I offer black and white facts showing racial disparities, which are most prevalent among people 25 or younger who receive LWOP. Blacks make up 6% of California’s population, but 38% of LWOPs are Black, 38% are Latinxx, and 14% are white. People of color are repping 86% of LWOP cases (Penal Code Revision Committee, 2021).
I also believe it’s important legislators know that SB 672 is not a “get out of prison free” card. There are gatekeepers in the form of commissioners and psychologists who will evaluate us prior to suitability reviews. After reviewing risk assessments, the Parole Board will assess potential future dangers.
The failure of SB 672 is a clear example of lawmakers either not having an accurate understanding of these numbers, or it’s a blatant example of Jim Crow-era policies. Feels like LWOP and that “Super Predator” myth are still synonymous. Just in case the legislators aren’t aware, it’s now undisputed that the LWOP exclusions perpetuate several racial disparities and the historical context finds itself soiled by racial stereotype and myth. This myth was authored by Princeton University Professor John J. Dilulio and was the lawmakers’ “tough on crime” foundation on which they built. It obviously distorted the legislator’s collective understanding of mitigating circumstances, like “Hallmarks of Youth,” which turned adolescence into an aggravating quality, effectively demonizing and dehumanizing Black and Brown people in the same manner I did back in my dysfunction.
Ending LWOP in all its forms is vital to fixing a system struggling to keep up with the evolution of justice-humanity. Sentencing that forbids review should not be imposed on anyone, especially those individuals that haven’t reached adulthood. This level of cruelty amounts to torture and has no place in a civil society. The suffering I caused in my community torments my soul daily and will outlive the heartbeats that sustain me. I despise who I was.
I’ve been incarcerated 31 years under exclusions that kept me excluded from anything rehabilitative and confined to the worst six prisons out of California’s 34. Fortunately, under these seemingly insurmountable odds, I’ve managed to get my GED, I’m a certified HVAC technician, I’ll be graduating with an AA Degree in communications, I’m a facilitator in self-help groups, and I just got certified to be a Peer Literacy Mentor-Tutor. Since these numbers are indicative of our transformations, we ask that Assembly members support Sb 672. This bill doesn’t guarantee anyone parole. It would hold youth accountable for their crimes while giving them a chance to demonstrate remorse and rehabilitation.
Leave a Reply