Refuse Juveniles Infinite Chances
Kevin Boot could well be the poster boy for Spokane County’s next attempt at a bond issue for a new juvenile detention center.
Boot, notwithstanding his boyish grin and angelic eyes, had 18 convictions under his belt before his latest arrest, for murder. He was never sent to a state juvenile institution for hard-core offenders, in part because beds are at such a premium statewide that real time goes only to the worst criminals.
Now, that’s what Boot allegedly has become.
From his career beginnings as a minor thief to his recent affront when he threatened the lives of two teenage girls with a gun, Boot worked his way up the criminal ladder, hit the small-time ceiling, and went beyond. Police say he and his cousin murdered 22-year-old Felicia Reese for $43.
Over his four-year crime spree, rehabilitation attempts were ignored. Boot rejected the outreached hands of police, probation officers, teachers and counselors. Officials say he failed the system.
Ironically, proof that juvenile justice can work was evident the same week that Boot’s mockery of the system was revealed. A 16-year-old boy, partly responsible for 41 roof-top burglaries in Spokane last winter, accepted responsibility for his crimes.
And, he received a lighter-than-normal sentence. But before the outraged accusations about soft-on-crime judges start flying, consider the second boy’s case: it was his first venture into crime, albeit an ambitious one; he says he was stealing to help support his family and a pregnant girlfriend; he’s now working two jobs while studying for his high school diploma. He’s refused to go on welfare now that he and his girlfriend are raising their eight-month-old son.
His teacher, Sandy Baker, says, “I have a good feeling about him.”
While this boy took a wrong turn, he’s using the best of the juvenile justice system to help right himself before it gets worse.
In Kevin Boot’s case, he never took that challenge; he never accepted responsibility.
And so, the system worked the way it was designed to - which points to an innate problem. It’s possible Boot deserved the chances he got early on. But by the, oh, say, eighth or ninth offense, Boot should have seen some harsher sentencing in a state institution.
Judges need greater discretion in sentencing juveniles, so the Kevin Boots get locked up and the others - like the 16-year-old burglar - get a second chance.
But when they come back, and some of them will, judges need to know they can send a very real message. That means jail. And when the time comes, there must be cells available.
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Anne Windishar/For the editorial board