Juvenile Suspect in Slaying Could Get Life if Convicted

The 16-year-old suspect in the killing of 14-year-old Carl Dan Claes faces the possibility of life in prison without parole if tried and convicted as an adult under a controversial new California law, authorities said Wednesday.

Under the new law, 16- and 17-year-old suspects face stiffened penalties for serious felonies such as murder. The law went into effect in January as part of a juvenile justice package prompted by outrage over violent crimes caused by teen-agers.

The Orange County district attorney’s office on Wednesday filed charges of murder, robbery and special circumstances of using a gun against 16-year-old Thomas Miller of Tustin. Prosecutors asked that Miller be tried as an adult.

Miller’s 15-year-old brother and a 17-year-old friend were charged with aiding him in the slaying, Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn Kirkwood said, adding that they would be tried as juveniles.

Until this year, judges had the discretion of sentencing 16- and 17-year-olds to the California Youth Authority, even if they were convicted as adults for murder and other crimes. If sentenced to CYA, the youths must be freed by their 25th birthday.

In order to try Miller as an adult, prosecutors will first have to convince a judge in the juvenile department of Superior Court that the seriousness of the allegations warrants moving the case to adult court.

The new law would make a difference in sentencing if Miller is convicted. Now, 16- and 17-year olds convicted as adults must serve full adult sentences, although they may be housed at the CYA until age 25, or until authorities believe they can safely serve the balance of their sentences in state prison. The youths still cannot be sentenced to death, but they can now be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Crime victims and their survivors, as well as state legislators, were outraged that teen-agers convicted of murder could serve well below the minimum adult sentence in CYA, and then be released at age 25, regardless of their conduct in the youth authority.

Kathy Woods, mother of slain San Clemente high school student Steve Woods, was so angry at the CYA sentences handed down to two of her son’s killers--under the old laws--that she planned a recall campaign against the judge.

Paul Mones, a Santa Monica attorney who specializes in murder cases involving juvenile defendants, said the changes in California law “grew out of a frustration with the ineffectiveness of the system to deal with young criminals.”

Under another law passed as part of the juvenile justice package, 14- and 15-year-old defendants for the first time can be tried as adults and, if convicted of murder, face a sentence of up to 25-years-to-life.

Before the law went into effect, they could only be held until age 25 and at the CYA.

The Orange County district attorney’s office has already asked that a 14-year-old accused gang member arrested in connection with the murder of a Seal Beach convenience story clerk be tried as an adult. Danette Garrett, 33, was shot and killed March 12 at an Arco station on Pacific Coast Highway.