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  she-whispers:

  Khoi Quach was 17 years old when he and some friends attended a birthday party on the night of 2009. During the event, a person that Khoi knew got into some conflict and shot another person. Thankfully that person survived. Khoi and a few other boys, included the shooter, were arrested and charged with premeditated attempted murder. As for Khoi, he was charged for aiding and abetting the attempted murder although he had no prior knowledge of the crime.

  So why the petition?

  How would the DA prove that Khoi was involved? This is done by linking Khoi’s association to the crime by virtue of gang activities. The DA will attempt to prove that Khoi was involved because he was an associate or a member of the gang belonged to the shooter. By virtue of his association/membership and his presence during the crime, Khoi is made responsible for the crime. However, the point that the DA is trying to prove does NOT make sense to any logical person because: (1) When you have friends who are gang members and you hang out with them, it does NOT mean you’re one of them.  (2) Even though you’re a gang member, it does NOT mean you’re automatically committed to all gang activities and crimes. Yet, the job of the DA is to make sure that Khoi will spend the rest of his life in prison by focusing all the energy into making Khoi a gang member, and then with manipulating skill that DAs are trained with to affect the Jury, the “gang enhancement” law can be implemented at the sentence.

  So why the petition for change?

  While the sentence for aiding and abetting an attempted murder might be between 1-7 years, the sentence for gang enhancement can be from 5-10 to 25 years to life. So if Khoi is found guilty of gang enhancement, he will be serving a total of 25+ years to life in prison for his role in the crime that was assumed by the DA. Interestingly, the jury will not be informed of this piece of trick that most DAs will do; that is, the DAs will try to make the jury believe a person to be a gang member, then with the prejudice, the jury will convict the person to be guilty of being a gang and responsible for the crime. Yes, law can be very complicated, that’s why this job is trusted on the hand of the defense attorney. Our main focus is to make it obvious that Khoi was not at the scene, is a potential person who deserves a second chance, and thus should not be charged the same as the shooter. In that sense, the sentence of 25 years to life is too harsh and unfair for a youth.

  We need changes for a better society.

  Glory, fame, and bias can blind people to justice sometimes, and that time happened in this particular case. Therefore, a change needs to be made in order to stop a teenager and other teenagers from facing the possibility of spending the rest of his/her life in prison. Make the time fits the crime, sign the petition requesting the DA to back off from trying to fish for more than what the relevant evidence provided. In this particular case, the DA must prove whether or not Khoi was involved directly in the shooting, NOT whether or not he was involved in the shooting just because he was there and there might be some link that he was an associate of the shooter by virtue of gang status. This is wrong!

  Many kids had been sent away for life in the prison system for the same practice and many more are facing this same possibility. It’s time to stand on ground and ask the DAs to logically make the time fits the crime, not the times that can be added to the crime.

  Please sign the petition and get involved in this cause because you will be making a step toward preventing kids from entering the prison system where they grow up, grow old, and eventually die in there. As parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, or aunts, etc., you cannot morally let it happen.

  MAKE THE CHANGE, PLEASE!

  (via drive-mysoul)

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