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Family photo/Courtesy of Bobbi Jamriska
Kristina Grill, 15, was murdered in 1993 by her ex-boyfriend, who was also 15 at the time of her death and 16 when he was convicted. She's seen in this file photo in Pennsylvania a year before her murder.
Nineteen years ago, Bobbi Jamriska's younger sister was found murdered in a Pennsylvania schoolyard. As Jamriska grieved, one thing brought her solace: When a court found her sister's 16-year-old ex-boyfriend guilty and sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
"When you get up every day, you think about what happened, but at least you know that there was that one constant, that life-without-parole was going to make sure that you never had to relive that part of it," said Jamriska, 40, who lives in Pittsburgh.
But three months ago, the Supreme Court struck down mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles as cruel and unusual punishment. While the June 25 ruling wasn't necessarily designed to be applied retroactively, some youth advocates are trying to use it to free so-called "juvenile lifers," setting off a series of battles over what to do with the approximately 2,100 convicted murderers who were handed mandatory life-without-parole sentences for acts committed as youths.
For victims' families, the decision has had huge emotional, and in some cases, legal implications.
"After the [Supreme Court] ruling, everyone felt like they were reliving the trial phase and their loved ones' murder," said Jamriska, who traveled to Washington, D.C., with other victims' families to protest the ruling.
She is part of a support group called the National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Lifers.
"There were a lot of families who didn't have any idea that this was even possible," she said. "For them, it was literally one day business as usual, and then the next day, on the news, their whole world got turned upside down."
Pennsylvania, where Jamriska lives, has the biggest concentration of juveniles serving mandatory life sentences -- about 480 of them, the oldest of whom was convicted almost 60 years ago and is now in his 70s, according to the Juvenile Law Center. Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court in Pennsylvania began hearing arguments for why some of the lifers there should be paroled, including the ex-boyfriend who killed Jamriska's sister in 1993.
No one in the legal system told Jamriska that the parole arguments involved her sister's killer. She found out from a reporter's voicemail about three weeks after the Supreme Court ruling that lawyers were trying to get parole for him.
Jamriska was stunned, but she said a lack of communication is somewhat understandable.
Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins / teenkillers.org
Bobbi Jamriska, of Pennsylvania, right, and Jody Robinson, left, of Michigan, another member of the National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Lifers, are seen advocating for victims' families' rights on March 20, 2012, outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., as the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether mandatory life without parole was cruel and unusual punishment for convicted juvenile murderers.
"There never was a contingency for if this person who was sent to life in prison with no parole is suddenly able to get out," she said. "The DA's office isn't really staffed to manage that influx of appeals and those victims who are trying to get information -- I don't blame them."
The state Supreme Court has put the arguments on hold and didn't give a timeline for a ruling. The Pennsylvania legislature still needs to come up with an appropriate alternative punishment for minors going forward.
"The sentencing scheme in Pennsylvania currently provides that for any individual, juvenile or adult, convicted of first or second-degree homicide must either receive a sentence of death or a sentence of life without parole. For juveniles, that mandatory sentence of life without parole has been declared unconstitutional," Marsha Levick, deputy director and chief counsel at the Juvenile Law Center, said. "We think the courts should look to the next most severe sentence that is statutorily available in the state. Here, that means a sentence for third-degree murder, where you have a maximum sentence of 40 years."
Levick suspects lawyers in other states will argue for that too. Since the Supreme Court ruling, North Carolina has passed a law replacing the mandatory life without prison sentence with a 25 years to life sentence; California's governor is currently evaluating a law that sets up two different schemes where parole eligibility comes in at either 15 or 25 years to life, Levick said. In all, 28 states still allow mandatory life-without-parole sentences for minors, a situation that will have to change.
"States can still impose life without parole," she said. "They just can't make it the only sentence available."
As some juvenile advocates try to undo sentences that have already been imposed, Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins, 54, president of the National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Lifers, worries about the families of their victims.
"Whenever you reopen traumatic wounds or you're triggering a retraumatization, you're talking about something that is going to affect people's work, their sleep, their health, their marriages -- everything," she said.
Victims can only rely on each other for support, Jenkins said.
14 years old: Too young for life in prison?
"They don't register for victim notification and they don't monitor what's happening, and then you get these reactions like what we've been getting in our organization," Bishop-Jenkins said. "We've been trying very hard to find people to let them know that this multi-billion dollar campaign to free their loved ones' killers is going on and they're just shocked."
Family photo/Courtesy of Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins
From left to right: Richard Langert and Nancy Bishop Langert are seen on their wedding day in 1987 in Kenilworth, Ill., with Nancy's parents and sister, Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins, far right. The Langerts were murdered by a 16-year-old in 1990.
There are potential legal issues too: Bishop-Jenkins' pregnant sister and brother-in-law were murdered in their home in Winnetka, Ill., 22 years ago. It was Bishop-Jenkins' father who found their bodies; his testimony served as crucial evidence in the initial trial. Eight years ago, her father died of cancer. She says the judge from the first trial has also died.
"My father was the best eyewitness to the carnage of the crime scene. We didn't videotape him talking about the crime," Bishop-Jenkins said. "We didn't get the transcript of what the judge said at the sentencing hearing where he gave this speech about if anybody deserved life without parole, he did."
She now fears she and her mom, 83, could have to face her sister's killer in sentencing hearings in court. And while she doubts he will be granted parole, she said she worries lawyers may try again every couple of years.
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If it was my sister or child, I would have wanted him out a long time ago so I can take matters into my own hands. Do the same to him as he did to my loved one. Except make him suffer alot more. That should be the accused person's punishment. Turn them over to the victim's family and don't ask any questions.
I would be willing to bet you feel you are a good Christian. You should read your good book in reference to revenge.
It's neither cruel nor unusual - it's justice.
How can children be considered as children for all things except murder. Children can make stupid and cruel mistakes, especially teenagers driven by hormones. Furthermore, who is going to pay the 2,500,000$ to house a teenager for a lifetime. Everybody wants to think countries like Iran and Russia jail the most people per capita, but we do.
We are a nation of laws. We have a criminal justice system not a criminal revenge system. If the law sentenced these teenagers to prison for life without parole that was the law then. It is no longer the law now. It used to be legal to have poll taxes to keep people from voting, interracial marriages used to be illegal; it also used to practice eugenics. Thankfully, now, those laws have changed. Now it is said that life without parole for teenagers is cruel and unusual punishment. Let it be. Let each sentence be reviewed and amended according to each situation. That's the law. Anything else is revenge. That should be left to God; not to the families seeking revenge for their dead loved ones.
"Left to god" is a cop-out, loser, negligent excuse. Murder is considerably different than tax laws and correcting social attitudes on marriage. You have zero empathy for the victims, and your god b.s. will not to relieve the pain the family members have to endure. Pull your head out.
Prisons have become little more than controlled social camps. Hard lifers get to work out when they want get free food medical and other non punishment items. Prison is supposed to be a place where people are sent who can not or will not perform as the rest of society does. Yes you are supposed to treat even prisoners as human beings. But at what point does the prison life become more of a rest house than a place of punishment. We need more prisons that are dedicated to punishment than social holding camps. Prisoners of hard crimes (murder drug dealers and other hard crimes should be held together) Juveniles should not be put into hard crime prisons with hardened criminals. But they should be put into situations where they have to finish school and have to learn the values of social justices.Yes even if they are there for life. We really need to look at how much hardened criminals are allowed all this free stuff. TV Movies entertainment. Hardened criminals if kept busy in helping to grow their own food and to keep thier prison in tip top clean shape every day are less likely to riot. Punishment is punishment. If more people are aware that when you go to prison you will be punished then maybe crime will go down.
When one loses their freedom they lose the most important thing in their lives. The TV, the free food, the entertainment. None of that means anything without freedom. I used to teach anger management classes in a prison so I speak from experience. Most prisoners lives were shaped by their family experience and while they are responsible for the crimes they committed (that is why they are in prison) most didn't have the family life which allowed them to be able to make coherent choices to do the right thing when they had a chance to. Many prisoners should never see the light of day again because they have been shaped by social, familial and environmental factors which make them dangerous to society. Most will get out some day. What would you rather have sent back out into society: someone who was treated somewhat humanely while behind bars or someone who was denied even the simplest pleasures and is angry enough to kill anyone who was even partially responsible for keeping them locked up. You know it is easy to say they should be treated like the animals they are when you lock them away and forget about them or feel you are paying taxes to keep someone comfortable while they spend time away from their loved ones. However, most prisoners will be back out on the streets someday and how they were treated there just might determine whether you or anyone you know will be a victim of a criminal act. Just like they have reaped a prison sentence for the actions they have sowed, forgetting these people as human beings may also be a reaping.
It's beyond me why we coddle criminals.
Ya but half the coddled are innocently convicted. The other half are mostly poor to begin with so really coddle the criminal or coddle the poor. The prison system does not need to have crime solved they are multi million dollar business models for Nasdaq..
We need to set these poor people free immediately....so they can kill again.
It's the American way.
We need to set these poor people free immediately....so they can kill again.
It's the American way.
Again and again the so called "Supreme Court" has shown they are out of touch, blinded by the smug feeling they get knowing they are the 'final arbiters' of all the laws of the land. Again they have demonstrated that a lifetime appointment is NOT in the best interests of this Nation.
Again and again the Supremes have demonstrated a cold indifference to the rules of life, forgetting they are out of touch, old in mind and body, trending toward senility and even worse have adopted a 'god like' persona.
These people should be vetted, should submit to drug testing, IQ tests and financial accounting. In addition they should be appointed for eight (YES, EIGHT) years. then they are gone.
These people have no realization of what current life is like as they live in a glass house in a vacuum.
Term limits are great for ALL elected and appointed FEDERAL PAYROLL employees.
When released they should have to live with the judges family.
This should help the gangster elements of society recruit juvenile hit men. That may not be so bad. As long as they're getting the bad guy, but what if a judge gets whacked. Bad law then?
"life-without-parole sentences for juveniles as cruel and unusual punishment"? Murder is most certainly cruel, and having these families relive the pain is adding to that cruelty.
For these characters who are shedding crocodile tears for juvenile killers, it would be nice to see them come home and find out their family had been wiped out by a 16 year old. Wonder if they would want to take the killer to a mall and buy him/her a present.
How anyone can feel sorry for these murders is beyond me. There is no parole for the victims. They have an eternal sentence. Where is the sympathy for them? These guys have it better than some of the people in the world. They get free medical care, food nad a place to sleep. some even have computers, DVD's etc. I think that life in a deep dark hole wuld be a better sentence for these guys. You people that have sympathy for thesse murders need to get your head out of your butt's.
This should help the gangster elements of society recruit juvenile hit men. That may not be so bad. As long as they're getting the bad guy, but what if a judge gets whacked. Bad law then?
If the court turns them loose, it's up to the family to apply justice.
Like sharia law?
Lets see now the Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional for those that were juveniles at the time of their crime. Now the court rules that life without is unconstitutional for juveniles at the time of their crime. The crime is MURDER not rape not theft not shoplifting but MURDER. the victim or victims are no longer on this earth. They cannot live out their lives, they cannot spend time with their family's, they cannot see their children again and their right to justice is now removed because the MURDERER was a juvenile at the time. The only questions should be did they know right from wrong and did they committ the crime. If both are yes then life without was the most appropriate sentence since the death penalty was taken away. So what if they are 16. What going to happen next will a 19 year old said to be included in the ruling since after all a 19 year old is only a teenager? Wait I know what will happen the ruling will be expended to all those who were 26 or under at the time of their crime. Why do I say this? Well Obama has had the health care theft package passed and in their a parents child is still a child and covered until they are 26. Sound really stupid? Yes! We ll guess what it makes as much sense as saying a juvenile who knows right from wrong cannot be sentanced to life without or death for committing one or more MURDERS. As a former street cop and a former Correctional Officer and Supervisor I can tell you now that people in prison is not taught to change their ways, to feel remorse or any other thing other than to be a better criminal. People in prison continue their criminal ways inside of prison including MURDER, rape, theft, drug sales, drug use and just about any other crime. They also control a lot of crimes committed on the streets outsid eof prison with the different gangs they belong to. Kill this inmate or have your sister bring these drugs to your next vist with her or we will kill certain members of your family on the streets. So far fatched? It is not! It is real and it happens all the time. So we send these juveniles to prison who have been found guilty of MURDERING one or more people and we turn them into meaner, better and badder criminals who will kill in prison and upon release will most likely kill again on the streets. A MURDER once said the first time you kill a person is hard the next time it is easy and gets easier every time. So that is what we want to do is release the worst offeneders from the prison system with an angry mind set after being in prison for many years, they cannot find a job, they have a hard time relating to other people and they then committ another crime. They know they will go back for many years so lets kill anyone who is a wittness or any cop who attempts to take them into custody. Great results. Thank you to all of the great justices on the Surpreme Court for really blowing yet another decision. The libs are rejoicing the dead and their families are crying.
The only thing cruel and unusual is the crime of murder itself. Life without parole is justice, period.
And may all those nasty little immature brats get what's coming to them one day. Maybe they'll have a kid that somebody bullies. See how funny it is then. What is wrong with kids these days? They're such heathens.
I feel for the families of the victims but I think this is a good thing. Life sentences should not be imposed on children except in EXTREME cases and the death penalty shouldn't even be on the table unless you like being on the same list as China and Iran.
As the parent of a teen, I know that they don't always understand the real consequences of their behaviour but that doesn't mean they intentionally meant to bring harm to someone. There has to be middle ground between the Canadian and American systems. In Canada, youth are protected in every way, even in cases of teens pimping out other teens, which is ridiculous imo , but that doesn't mean they are all lost causes. It's a case by case issue and should be treated as such.
Only apply in extreme cases? So murder is not extreme? Are you serious? My teen knows that murder is wrong. Heck, she knew that when she was in kindergarten.
Why are these scum not executed?
Who in their right mind thinks these monsters are anything but demons who deserve death, they should be happy that they are not burned to death slowly.
I would love to interview one of the morons who are for freeing these monsters after their family is wiped out by one of them. I wonder if they would still think that keeping these spawns of satan off the street for life is a bad idea.
Perhaps they can all be paroled and required to live in the justices' neighborhoods?
@Old Timer For all your so called logical arguments, you forget that criminals and bad guys don't obey laws. Passing more laws isn't going to do a damn thing.
People need to realize evil is evil and it needs to be sent back to were it came from using the needle.
There should be no "mandatory sentences" on anything. Every case is different, and discretion should always be available to the judge.
The law is grey, not black and white.
The people who call for mandatory sentences are bitter malicious people, in my book. People who dont care to hear all the facts. They want the easy way out, and usually advocate harsh sentences. They have a thing for wanting to punish everyone who doesnt tow the line. Unthinking control freaks basically
Again and again the so called "Supreme Court" has shown they are out of touch, blinded by the smug feeling they get knowing they are the 'final arbiters' of all the laws of the land. Again they have demonstrated that a lifetime appointment is NOT in the best interests of this Nation.
Again and again the Supremes have demonstrated a cold indifference to the rules of life, forgetting they are out of touch, old in mind and body, trending toward senility and even worse have adopted a 'god like' persona.
These people should be vetted, should submit to drug testing, IQ tests and financial accounting. In addition they should be appointed for eight (YES, EIGHT) years. then they are gone.
These people have no realization of what current life is like as they live in a glass house in a vacuum.
Term limits are great for ALL elected and appointed FEDERAL PAYROLL employees.
People really need to get past catastrophes in their lives. Without “getting past” them they will dominate the remainder of your life. Before anyone asks, Yes, my family has been the victims of violent crime. My brother was murdered 15 years ago and I was completely devastated. Still, before I could heal I had to let it go and move on. It does me absolutely no good to spend my time advocating that his killer stay in prison for the rest of his life. My brother’s absence was the cause of my pain and continuing to track his killer’s sentence will not bring my brother back. Do what you want but I let it go! When I did let it go, peace of mind engulfed me and I began to live again and stopped being plagued by resentments, revenge and haunting memories day and night.
I'm thankful you were able to forget about your brother and move on, that's good for you. My sister was pregnant when he butchered her, so that part stays with me, I guess people are different.
Had they sentenced him to x number of years, I'd be totally satisfied with that sentence. However, they said life, that's what we all expected, not we get a 'do-over'. There was no 'do-over' when killing a baby became illegal some years after his initial sentence.
I don't advocate for truth in sentencing because I'm not resolving my sister's murder. I fight for truth in sentencing because without it, the concept of justice gets rather blurry.
As for the haunting memories and nightmares, I was pretty much beyond that until SCOTUS decided to re-define a defining moment in my life.
Everybody is different, please don't define my healing or mindset by the way you chose to grieve, it doesn't make you more evolved or better than me, just different than me.