What's happening to us?
Mark Steyn reports on two Oregon boys who face prosecution for … well, for being boys. I first blogged about their case here.
Steyn:
… upon being caught butt-swatting, [Cory] Mashburn and [Ryan] Cornelison were called to the principal’s office, where they were questioned for several hours by vice principal Steve Tillery and McMinnville Police officer Marshall Roache. At the end of the afternoon, two boys who’d never been in any kind of trouble before were read their Miranda rights and led off in handcuffs to spend five days in juvenile jail.
Tough, but I guess they learned their lesson, right?
Ha! The state of Oregon was only warming up. After a court appearance in shackles and prison garb, the defendants were charged with multiple counts of felony sexual abuse, banned from school and forbidden any contact with their friends.
• Is that true? Were these boys “questioned for several hours” outside the presence of their parents or counsel before being Mirandized? And if so, what’s the legal significance of that, if any? [Added: I sent e-mail to a law professor who specializes in criminal procedure and asked him to comment on this. If he answers, I’ll let you know.]
• For more than two days following their arrest, Cory and Ryan, both 13, were not allowed to see their parents, or even to speak to them by phone.
• Watch the Oregonian’s interview with the boys and their parents.
• Here’s a partial transcript from juvenile court in which two of the “victims” say they did not feel threatened by the boys, whom they describe as friends, but did feel pressured to make false statements during interrogation.
• Both families are already out $10K each in legal fees. One family has lost its car and had its phone shut off.
• I have what I think is accurate contact information for Cory and Ryan’s defense fund. But I want to call and verify before posting it. Once I’ve confirmed the information, I’ll share it with you. These boys and their parents are up against the resources of the state. We have to help them.
Again, Steyn:
Mashburn and Cornelison do not believe they’ve committed a crime, so they would like to exercise their right to the presumption of innocence — a bedrock principle of the English legal tradition now in great peril from American prosecutorial excess. Instead of letting the state bully them into a grubby, shaming deal, the boys would like it to do what justice systems in civilized societies are required to do: prove the crime. It’s a gamble: Those 10 charges each command a one-year sentence, plus lifelong sex-offender registration.
District Attorney [Bradley] Berry told reporter Susan Goldsmith of the Oregonian that his department “aggressively” pursues sex crimes. “These cases are devastating to children,” he said. “They are life-altering cases.”
No, sir. The only one devastating children’s lives is you.