Banished Pair Told Jail Awaits Tlingit Teens Told Sentences May Be Reduced, Not Avoided

Two Indian teenagers, banished to remote islands near their Southeast Alaska hometown, on Friday reaffirmed their desire to continue the judicial experiment authorized by a judge here.

Under its terms, Simon Roberts and Adrian Guthrie, both 18, will return here for sentencing March 15.

In a special hearing conducted by conference call - Roberts and Guthrie were brought to Ketchikan, Alaska, to participate - the Snohomish County Superior Court judge reminded the two they still face prison terms for a brutal baseball-bat attack on a pizza delivery driver in 1993, when both were 16.

The banishment experience “can’t have any impact” on their sentences, Judge James Allendoerfer told them.

He was adamant about the likelihood of prison time when he delayed sentencing a year ago to allow the teens to undergo judgment by a Tlingit tribal court in Alaska, which ordered an 18-month banishment.

But he indicated then that their eventual sentences might be reduced as a result of their experience or of an easing in state sentencing law.

A state Court of Appeals ruled in May that the teens must be advised they will still face prison time for assault and robbery when they return. Under state sentencing guidelines, Guthrie faces a penalty of up to 3-1/2 years in prison and Roberts, who wielded the bat, up to 5-1/2 years.

The appellate court also ordered them advised that it would be inappropriate to postpone sentencing in hopes that the laws would change.

Allendoerfer explained these points Friday. He also told them they could not possess firearms during their banishment, a modification of the original conditions.

The judge then asked whether they wanted to continue the banishment or return here immediately for sentencing.

Both said they wanted to finish the banishment.

Deputy Prosecutor Seth Fine noted that the appellate court had said the teens must be advised that “a standard-range prison sentence inescapably awaits them.”

“I’m going to decline to do that,” Allendoerfer said.

“That hearing hasn’t been held yet. … If I were to prejudge the case, I’d have to recuse myself,” and turn the case over to another judge, he said.

“There are many reasons to reduce a sentence. And I can assure you those will be presented” at sentencing in March, Deputy Public Defender Al Kitching, who represented Guthrie, said after the hearing.

Fine once again urged the judge to reconsider his decision in the case.

“Your experiment is being conducted with dynamite,” the prosecutor said, urging the judge to “look beyond your hopes and see what has actually happened.”

The victim of the 1993 attack, Tim Whittlesey, suffered permanent eye and ear damage and Fine told the court, “One person seriously injured is one person too many.”

He suggested the judge impose sentences on the spot.

“Why wait?” Fine said.

He reiterated concerns about the validity of the tribal court that judged the teens; the sincerity of efforts to compensate Whittlesey, which was presented as part of the Tlingit tradition; and the accuracy of periodic reports on the teens’ status.

Allendoerfer was not dissuaded.

“I think this experiment has the potential to make a difference, and I’m going to allow it to run its course,” he said.

Attorney Clayton Longacre, representing Roberts, told the court the banishment had inspired Indian people across the nation.

“Those who have seen the boys say a difference is being made,” he said.