Joan Ostrow The Denver Post

"As she has done in several previous award-winning efforts, writer-director-producer Bikel tackles underlying social questions and psychological motivations as she explores a peculiar corner of American criminal justice. Her speciality (sic) has long been examinations of wrongful convictions. ...

"'When Kids Get Life' joins the formidable Bikel archive, beseeching us to think hard about what constitutes justice."

Read all the reviews

Colorado inmates sentenced to life without parole when they were teenagers

He killed his parents after years of abuse, but even some of the jurors who convicted him wonder if he deserved life without parole	Serving life without parole for a con gone bad, Trevor Jones is an example of the exacting logic of Colorado's felony murder statute.
A player in a botched carjacking, he was only 15 when he was charged with first-degree murder and imprisoned; now he's serving time at Colorado's maximum-security facility.	Erik was there when Nate killed his abusive mother. Nate says Erik didn't do anything, but they're both serving life without parole for her death. Joan Ostrow The Denver Post

KIDS IN COLORADO

We at Pendulum Foundation believe in rehabilitation as well as retribution - and that all children deserve a second chance.

Below are the 5 cases highlighted on the PBS Frontline special,

"WHEN KIDS GET LIFE"

originally broadcast on May 8, 2007

Nathan Ybanez (L) and

Cheryl Armstrong

Cheryl Armstrong is serving a 96-year sentence for two counts of second degree murder. She did not kill anyone, but drove the getaway car and was accused of being the "mastermind" in a double homicide in 1995 when she was 16 years old.

Isaac Grimes

Isaac Grimes was 15 years when he confessed to cutting the throat of his friend, Tony Dutcher and conspiraring to murder Tony's Grandparents. The story is bizarre beyond words, but few doubt that Isaac was under duress and possibly mind control. he belonged to a secret organization led by Simon Sue then 18 and paid Simon approximately $3500 in "penalties" from his job at Carl's Jr. Isaac told his family he was saving his money for an engine. Isaac told police that the only way he could leave the group was to commit suicide and that he feared for the lives of his family. Psychological testing has borne this out: he was terribly fearful and suffering from post traumatic stress and he is not a sociopath. Our court system doesn't care about this, however. Isaac is just another notch in their gunbelt.

TREVOR JONES It began with a simple plan: Trevor Jones would scam a kid out of $100 and then just walk away. But the night of Nov. 21, 1996, ultimately revolved around a loaded gun. Jones, 17, fired a single shot - accidentally, he claims - that struck 16-year- old Matthew Foley in the head and killed him. Jones is serving life without parole.	SAM MANDEZ The Greeley police detective shoved his chair closer to the teen in the baseball cap and accused him of murdering 78-year-old Frida Winter four years earlier. But the Greeley teen, Sam Mandez, denied any involvement or knowledge of the crime.
CHRISTOPHER SELECTMAN No one disputed whether 16-year-old Chris Selectman was at the scene when McKinley Dixon, a young drug dealer, died from a gunshot wound. He was. And no one questioned where the bullets came from. They came from Selectman's .25-caliber handgun.	DIETRICK MITCHELL Near the end of a day cruising northeast Denver and Aurora while draining three 40-ounce bottles and a six-pack of beer, 16-year-old Dietrick Mitchell turned a corner. Seconds later, the car he was driving slammed into 17-year-old Danny Goetsch as he walked in the gutter along East 13th Avenue with two friends.

Read the Denver Post Article here

If you would like to include a story here, please contact

maryellen@pendulumfoundation.com

Read the Denver Post Article here

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Jeff Johnson; will be 31 on December 26th of this year.

He has been in prison since he was 17 years old.

One of the 45 juveniles in the state of Colorado, who have been

tried as an adult and given life without parole, plus 32 years.

A juvenile, who is now a man, was convicted without DNA,

fingerprints, eye-witnesses to the crime against him.

Due to deceitful reports from the press in the past experiences,

his story has never been shared, you understand…

Do you remember being a teen? Those drive for independence, wanting friends and to have fun? Being a teen clumsy, awkward, skinny, misunderstood and uncomfortable with yourself? Wanting to belong and be accepted. When were young we make a lot of mistakes, we fall before we walk. I think that it’s what makes us young.

Now imagine you’re just living your daily life. You’re hanging out with a group of teens one needs your help like a trip to a store. But then something unimaginable happens. You try to help your in shock, scared; you don’t think you just respond. Fear and shock of events can make people run, hide, and scream, but you don’t know what to do its too late.

Read the court transcripts where the district attorney bluntly lied to the jury. Where she told them she had critical DNA against Jeff and she didn’t! The defense attorney failed to cross examine the witnesses and did not challenge the DA’s statements at anytime.

We have actual evidence of innocence. We have not had a lawyer since 1998, because we can’t afford one. Jeff has lived in prison the last thirteen years with his voice silenced hoping that our family would be able to afford a lawyer and the truth would be exposed. But we need your help.

Please don’t take our word for it we encourage you to research our claims for yourself.

Thank you for listening sincerely,

The Johnson Family

If you would like to have more information about Jeff or help Jeff in some way, please e-mail us at truluv1johnson@aol.com or forgottenjustice.com coming soon.

courtesy of the Denver Post

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Chris’ Story:
 On Halloween night 1996, seventeen-year-old Chris went to his grandmother’s place of employment with his grandfather to play pool.  Later he returned to his grandparent’s home where he met with friends.  The group of young people decided to make use of a newly purchased hot tub. A troubled fourteen-year-old girl, Tiffany, was with the group.  Unfortunately, heavy drinking was involved.  According to Chris, Tiffany was already intoxicated when she arrived at his grandparents’ home.  Chris and Tiffany were attracted to each other and became intimate after the rest of the revelers had left.  Later Tiffany expressed a desire to leave.  Chris, concerned about her intoxicated condition, insisted she call someone to see her home.  At that time Chris believed Tiffany was fifteen.

Chris’s co-defendant, a boy of only thirteen, arrived in response to Tiffany’s telephone call.  The boy claimed to have marijuana and asked Chris to smoke with him.  Chris stated his grandparents were death on drugs, but he would join him and Tiffany at a nearby school later.  Forty-five minutes later Chris went to the school.  The boy was there and pointed Tiffany’s body out to Chris.  Chris hurried to Tiffany’s side and checked for a pulse.  The poor child was dead as a result of numerous stab wounds.  The boy asked Chris to assist him in hiding the body.  Chris’ answer was the same he had used since age nine when faced with a problem... both boys ran and claimed to be elsewhere when apprehended by police.

Chris was charged as an adult.

The first trial resulted in a hung jury.

The second trial, Chris was found guilty and sentenced to life without parole.

My Story:
In October of 2005 I found myself retired with time on my hands.  In the past, I had been a Probation officer, Parole Officer, Social Worker, Foster Father and Volunteer.While researching another matter on the net I accidentally found the Pendulum Foundation. I called the Executive Director and asked if she thought one of the kids in prison might wish to carry on a correspondence. Chris was receptive to the idea and I was stunned when I received his third letter.It was a letter from a young person facing death from a terminal illness and not a person who had murdered another human being. Having lost a leg from bone cancer in college when the survival rate was one in ten, I had personal knowledge of the mindset. Since that time I have visited Chris at the prison, we correspond twice a week, and he calls about once every two weeks.
In my forty-three years of experience I had come in contact with numerous boys who said they were innocent.I had never met one who was actually innocent.That was about to change.This is what I have discovered.

1. The press claimed Chris was covered with blood when he returned to the home of his grandparents. His courageous grandfather and grandmother were home when he returned and have stated without qualification there was no blood visible.Later a tiny spot of blood was found on one of Chris’s shoes, which reasonably got there when Chris checked this poor girls pulse.
   2. The prosecution alleged the boys wanted sex and killed Tiffany when she refused.In Chris’s case they had already crossed that bridge forty-five minutes earlier.
   3. The intermediate Colorado Appellate Court found Chris’s civil rights had been violated when his first requests for an attorney were refused, but did not order a new trial as Chris had maintained his innocence as he does now ten years later.              
   4. My belief in Chris’s innocence is shared by his loving grandparents, the most able Executive Director of the Pendulum Foundation, Mary Ellen Johnson, Senior Researcher for Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, the brilliant Alison Parker, and numerous others.  During Alison Parkers video taped interview with Chris, he asked that he be given the same treatment as an unwanted dog in an animal shelter and be put to sleep.

Along with my other volunteer job as a Juvenile Probation Officer for the Westminster Municipal court, I will continue to work in Chris’s behalf.  I pray I will be granted the years and wisdom to see Chris free and a contributing member of Society.

Douglas W. Pinegar

If you would like to have more information about Chris or help Chris in some way, please e-mail me at dpin65@earthlink.net or www.pendulumfoundation.com.

(UPDATE - Michael's trial has been postponed until sometime after the first of next year.)
Michael Tate and his brother were removed from their mother's care when Michael was only three years old. They were removed because of abuse.

Michael was likely sexually abused due to signs first seen while he was in foster care. He was placed in group homes and mental facilities where he was physically manhandled, isolated, placed in a quiet rooms and strapped down. Michael hasn't received an education in the system, which is in violation of his civil rights, nor has he ever received the proper treatment for his mental problems, in fact he was further damaged.

Doctors have diagnosed Michael with Schizoaffective disorder with psychotic features, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. Michael is overwhelmed with stimuli, can't be touched; his attorney is the only one that can touch him and she must ask permission first. He can make a bowl of cereal if you place the bowl, cereal and milk in front of him otherwise he is lost. Many drugs and combinations of drugs have been tried on Michael unsuccessfully.

Michael's 18th birthday was on Saturday July 15th. He was placed in the adult portion of where he's been housed since he was 16 in Golden CO, on Sunday and placed on suicide watch by Monday. Michael is more of a threat to himself than to others. Michael's first attempt at suicide was at the age of nine years old.

The attorneys defending Michael aren't refuting the allegations of 1st degree murder that happened on November 8, 2004. They are wanting the DA to acknowledge Michael's mental state and for him to be placed in the Colorado Mental Institute in Pueblo, where not only Michael will be safe and receive the treatment he's been denied for years, but the general public will be safe as well. The general public needs to understand that when a person is placed in a facility with Michael's disabilities he won't be walking the street in a few months or even years.

Every adult in Michael's life has failed him. The abuse excuse is used and allowed by all battered women in this country. Why not the children? Why do we look the other way when a child is abused but are ready to fight when it comes to a woman and give her a second chance?

While we all agree that anyone, including children should be punished when they commit crime, it is also important to remember that children are not mentally as developed as adults, therefore they deserve a chance to rehabilitate rather than spend the rest of their lives in an adult prison.

MICHAEL QUINN TATE

You can sign the petition for Michael here

CHRIS WEEDMAN:

He ran away once too often.

My name is Cheryl Armstrong, and I am serving a 96-year sentence for two counts of second degree murder. I did not kill anyone, but drove the getaway car and was accused of being the "mastermind" in a double homicide in 1995 when I was 16 years old. I have now been incarcerated for almost 12 years. Today, I am an entirely different person from the girl who was involved in a horrible tragedy that destroyed so many people's lives. I know for a fact that I learned from my mistakes - they changed my life and helped turn me into the person I've become today. Every day for the rest of my life, I will feel horrible about what I was involved in when I was 16. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my victims and the pain I've caused their families - and my own. The words "I'm sorry" do no justice to how remorseful I am now, although I am so very sorry for the pain their families suffer.

Since I have been incarcerated, I have completely changed in numerous ways and am achieving things for myself. I completed my GED in 1995 and have continued my education by completing the Business School program offered at my facility. I have also been taking college classes for the last five years, and I will be receiving an Associate of Arts Degree in the summer of 2007.

Upon my release, I would like to be some sort of counselor for troubled teens. I really want to use my bad experience to try to help others from making the same mistakes that I made. It's heartbreaking to see so many children that made one horrible mistake get thrown into prison for the rest of their lives, when a huge number of them could be rehabilitated and, more than likely, never re-offend after release from prison.

Looking back, I can't even believe that it was me who participated in something so atrocious I didn't even care about my own life then and never took anything seriously. I have always said that I deserve to be in prison for what I did. I do not, however, feel that I should be here for another 80+ years. I have grown up and would NEVER be a threat to society. I have no violence on my record in prison, and that's because there's not a violent bone in my body now. I think a 96-year sentence was harsh considering it was my first offense and I actually didn't commit a violent act.
I have accepted responsibility for my mistakes and learned from them. I would do ANYTHING to get just ONE chance to prove that I'm a changed person and would love to become a productive member of society who could make a difference in our youth's lives. I pray that I, along with so many others who came to prison as children, will one day get this chance.

ABOUT THE CRIME

In being asked to rehash the terribly tragic event that brought me to prison when I was 16 with a 96-year sentence, the first emotion that comes to mind is sorrow…sorrow for every person affected by our careless actions. I am ashamed of the person I was when I was 15-16 years old. I feel embarrassed and humiliated to talk about my crime, because I am a COMPLETELY different person today. Those emotions, though, are part of the reason why I feel it so important to talk about it now. What my co-defendants and I did was indisputably wrong, but I know from personal experience that what this system is doing to its children is also very wrong. Therefore, I want my story to be heard in hopes that it will help society to see that children don't belong in prison for the rest of their lives.

As a child, I was very close to my family and had a great childhood. I was an honor roll student until 9th grade and wasvery outgoing in sports and other activities (tennis, swimming, ice skating, girl scouts, etc.). My dad was a violent man, and my mom left him for good when I was two years old. I grew up visiting him less and less as I got older. I never got into any trouble until I was 14 years old. I grew up in real small towns, but when I was 14 we moved to Littleton, Colorado, and I was exposed to city life for the first time. To this day, I can't say what was so alluring about the negative things I got drawn into. I think, at first, I just wanted to make new friends in a new place, and I obviously picked the wrong people to associate with. I started doing drugs, and for the next two years it all went downhill from there.

All this anger appeared from God knows where. I became a very bitter child who had no respect for anyone or anything. I wasn't real violent, but had a horrible energy within me that the simplest thing would trigger. I have only been in two fights in my life, but had a horrible mouth that would say anything without thinking. Since my childhood, one of the most important lessons I've learned is how much power the words we speak really have in our lives. So many of my words came back to haunt me at my trial and what is so sad about it is that I really did not mean any of them. I would say horrible things (not just where my crime was concerned, but in general) and not even feel the same way five minutes later. Like every other kid I knew, I made idle threats that never carried any real intention. We all spoke that way so frequently that it really did seem completely normal, although now I realize the way we talked was anything but that.

Here's the truth. There are two victims in my case. One of them had been my boyfriend for about ten months before I got arrested. The second victim was his other girlfriend. I was accused of basically ordering my friends to kill them both on the night of April 17, 1995, as a result of a supposed "jealous rage" due to his leaving me.

Still to this day, it is inconceivable to me how the plot of the story got so absurdly twisted and blown out of proportion. I will never get over the fact that a huge part of my conviction is based on fabricated misconceptions that were created by a prosecutor who was politically motivated to get a conviction to further his own career. Denver was "cracking down" on gang and teen violence that year, and I was the example used to show that if you make one huge mistake, you're going to rot in prison for the rest of your life. The prosecutor was running for DA soon after my trial and was hell-bent beyond reason on making me out to be the worst child ever born. His prosecutorial tactics were cut-throat…some of his prior convictions had even been thrown out due to prosecutorial misconduct. The case was HUGE in the media also, and I was convicted there before I ever went to trial.

Before the crime happened, I had told the victim that I was messing around with someone else besides him. He told me to pick between them, and I picked the other guy. I left HIM - the first of many, many details to get twisted at my trial so I could become what they needed me to be and fall for first-degree murder. Our conversation got ugly, and he threatened to kill me and my mom. Then, I threatened him. He also had his friends call my house and leave threatening messages. These were people in his gang (he was a Blood). I then told one of my friends about it, and he called him on the phone and told him, "You're dead." He was a Crip and for this reason alone he never got along with the victim, and vice versa. Every person we know talked like this frequently…no one ever ended up dead.
The next day I was driving around in my car and we were bored with nothing to do. I said, "Let's go get him (the victim)." Everyone in the car agreed, so we started to drive to his house. The bottom line is this… I didn't care what happened that night. It has taken me years to be honest enough to say that. It's such a horrible thing to say, but it is true. There is a huge difference, though, between being angry and not thinking or caring about the results…and forcing someone to commit murder. I did not have any respect for myself, let along anyone else in the world. My mind had fallen into some dark place and was lost there from the time I was about 15 until at least a year after I was arrested.