The El Paso County Attorney Jose Rodriguez defends his decision to subject a 16 year old female juvenile to the threat of a 40 year sentence for attempting to smuggle cocaine across the border:
“Proceeding under (the) determinate sentencing statute in this case demonstrates that we will not tolerate these types of crimes, and should serve as a warning to those teens who might be tempted by the money being offered by the drug cartels,” Rodriguez said.
Anyone out there believe this has any shot at deterring 16 year olds from doing foolish things?
Rodriguez also points out that she may get less than 40 years, possibly even probation, despite his decision to certify her as an adult offender. Why then does he not let her face imprisonment until she’s 21, under the juvenile statutes?
“We simply wanted to give jurors an option for a wider sentence,” Dominguez said. “Our emphasis is not on incarcerating juveniles but on rehabilitating them.”
So…seeking more than five years for a juvenile drug offender is emphasizing rehabilitation not punishment?