WE NEED TO STOP THE
COURTS FROM COMMITTING CHILD ABUSE AGAINST OUR KIDS, WE NEED TO STOP IT NOW!
By R.
W. Monosso
June 26, 2014
Let me ask you a question!
Assume
you are the parent of a 16 year old boy. Now this kid's best friend moves away,
so he decides to expand his friend base, and ties up with a neighborhood kid
that is questionable in character, you are not aware of some of the kids
background and he seems polite when you meet them. OK, are you with me so far?
Now
one day this new friend brings another person into the picture, you do not know
about this new person but you do notice that your kid is changing a little bit,
not quite as outgoing, grades slipping a little - not bad, but noticeable. So
you talk to your kid, and he tells you they are missing this friend that moved
away and will try harder to be the kid that you are going to proud of and still
is respectful, obedient, and for the most part the kid you have known and
raised.
Then
one afternoon, there is a knock at the door, when you open the door, there is a
Police Detective there, and he tells you he needs to speak to your kid. You
invite him in, and call your kid to come down to the living room.
And
you find out that this new friend and his group of friends got your kid
involved in an armed robbery. Your kid was an inactive participant in as much
as he was present during the course of the crime. When the Detective leaves, he
takes your kid with him in Handcuffs.
Are
you still with me? Things start to get interesting from here on, well actually
they turn into a nightmare really.
So
you call your ex, and let them know what is happening. Well you know that you
are going to need an attorney, and you have heard the horror stories about the
public defenders and how often they lose his cases, so you think “NO, I will
get a private Attorney. But WHO? Your ex says I think we should hire Rex Brayer Attorney at Law of Draper
Utah he is a great attorney, and he knows fill
in the name of your kid here, and will go all out for him. See your ex used
to work for him. So you pay him the $5,000.00 that he says it will cost to
defend your kid.
A
hearing is scheduled for 10 days from now, and you think that Rex is working his butt off to make sure
your kid is defended. The day of the hearing arrives, and you, your ex and
several other supporters of your kid are there, BUT where is Rex? The court,
says we will come back to this case, and they move on, 15 or so minutes later
who should wonder in, but Rex.
They
recall your kid’s case and Rex goes
up and stands with your kid, and basically does nothing, and you realize he is
not prepared, and really has no idea as to what is going on. Well time goes on,
and there are 9 more hearings, but for the next 8 Rex does not even make an
appearance. Now the 9th hearing is the hearing that is going to
determine if your kid is going to remain in the Juvenile system, or be bound
over to the Adult System and go before the district court where he will be
tried and sentenced as an adult. Guess what Rex
is LATE AGAIN, hay but at least he shows up.
Well
the Prosecutor calls his witnesses, Arresting Police Officer, and one of two
victims. Question – why only one of the victims, why not both? Maybe it is the
fact that the victim that is called was able to be persuaded to change his story
and make what was an armed robbery of a DRUG dealer, into a Violent Home
Invasion Robbery, where everyone had guns and threatened to kill him and the
other victim, YET the other victim’s statement never changes about the
important details of the case, that the defendants were INVITED in, and INVITED
into the basement (where the victim whose story changed at least 5 times did
his drug sales) and the defendants were there for at least 20 minutes until he
got stupid and pulled the ringleaders gun out of his waistband and that is when
two of the others pull out his guns, and your kid kind of scoots back into the
woodwork and stands there as scared as are the victims.
Rex does not question
the victim or the officer about the changes in the victims story, does not
question as to why the other victim is not called. Also he does not call any
witnesses in your kid’s behalf and now the Judge says, OK obviously the state
is right and your kid belongs in the Adult System under the Serious Youth
Offender Act, so slams the gavel and says, “You are hereby bound over to the
District Court to be tried for Aggravated Robbery.”
Well
now it goes to District Court and again Rex
does nothing to prevent your kid from being Certified as an adult, and thus
allows him to be tried for Aggravated Robbery as an adult even though he is
only 16 years old, and has NEVER before ever been in trouble with the law.
Well
you know you don’t want this idiot representing your kid anymore, so you fire
him and you hire a new Attorney Roy Cole of Ogden, Utah, AGAIN he comes highly
recommended. So you pay him the money that he says it will cost to defend your
kid.
The
first thing you ask him is to appeal the Juvenile Courts decision, and
erroneously he tells you that you can’t. He is an attorney so you take him at
his word, you figure that he has checked into it, so you ask what is next. He
explains to you what to expect and the hearings to come. So you prepare yourself
and your kid. Then your new attorney tells you that it looks like there is a
plea agreement that will prevent your kid from going to Prison. Finally good
news.
Then
you find out that two of the other defendants’ one of the co-defendants, the 19
year old and the other Juvenile the 17 year old were also offered the same plea
agreement:
Defendant
Rex Q Idiot 19 years old will plead guilty to Attempted Aggravated robbery, and
Aggravated Robbery both class 2 Felonies, in return the State will recommend that
the defendant will serve 180 days in the County Jail, will serve 3 years
supervised Probation, Pay $XXXX.00 in Restitution and $XXXX.00 fines.
When
and if Defendant successfully completes his Probation, pays his fines and
restitution he will be eligible for a double 402 Reduction to make it so that
he will not have a felony record.
Well
you find out that the 19 year old is going before the Judge to change his plea
from not guilty to guilty via the plea agreement. So you go to court to hear
what happens. The hearing goes about how your attorney said it would, the Judge
accepts his plea of guilty and follows the recommendation of the state, and
gives him the sentence as outlined in the agreement.
A
couple of weeks later you find out the other Juvenile has his hearing date, so
again you go to court to see what happens, again it is as your attorney said it
would, but as this defendant was more of a participant, the judge adds 30 days
to the sentence and makes it 210 days Probation, Restitution, and fines.
Well
you are feeling pretty good, you are a bit perturbed that your kid is going
before a District Court Judge, but at least he is not going to be going to
prison!
The
big day comes, you spend the morning with your kid, and make sure that your kid
knows that you are still behind him and although he made a serious mistake you
still love him.
THEN
the nightmare gets WORSE!
You
get to the Courthouse and meet your kid’s attorney and he is still optimistic
that everything is good and your kid’s plea agreement will stand. So you walk
into the Courtroom, and are ready to see your kid get sentenced to 180 days in
the County Jail and will likely be taken from the Courtroom to holding to be
transported to the Jail at the end of the day.
A
few other cases are called and then it is your kids turn. You give him a hug
and he walks up with his / her attorney and stands before the Judge. You can
tell your kid is scared, and your heart aches for him but this nightmare is
going to be over soon, and in 180 day he will be at home with you again. The
prosecution says his piece and your kid’s attorney says a few things about the
plea agreement, and then it happens. THE NIGHTMARE GETS WORSE, it gets worse
than you could ever have imagined it could get.
The
Judge looks at your kid and asks, “Has your attorney explained all of this to
you?” To which your kid being scared mumbles, yes. Then he asks, did he also
tell you that I do not have to accept this agreement, and now your heart is
sinking and your kid tries to answer but is so scared that nothing comes out.
Then the Judge asks, are you pleading guilty to these charges, Two 2nd
degree felonies. Your kid gives an affirmative nod of the head.
Then
it happens, the Judge says, “Next to murder I can think of no worse crime than
a Home Invasion Robbery. I can only imagine the fear that went through your
victim, as those guns were pointed at his head and threats of death were made.
I cannot in good conscience accept this recommendation of 180 days in the
county jail. No, you are hereby sentenced to 2 terms of 1-15 years in the Utah
State Prison System.” “Officers take the defendant into custody and hold him
until the paperwork can be processed and he can be transferred to the Utah
State Prison in Draper, Utah to be processed.” The Judge then slams the gavel
and your kid is handcuffed and taken crying and pleading from the courtroom.
Two
days later your kid is transported to the Point of the Mountain, and because
they are not equipped to deal with prisoners as young as your kid, the only place
they can house him is in Uinta-1, which is the protective custody area of the
prison, which is also the area that houses the Death Row inmates. Your kid is
now locked up 23 hours a day, 365 days a year for at least the next 2 years,
the only human contact that he will have is when the guards make his rounds,
when his food is brought to him, and when mental health comes to check on him
and make sure that he has not become suicidal. Of course in two or three months
you will be able to finally go visit him, of course there will be 3 inches of
glass between you and you will have to talk on a telephone (which of course is
recorded), and so for the next two years at least this is what you and he have
to look forward to.
So
my question to you is this: Is this what should be done with our youth? Should
our youth who have never been in trouble with the law a day in his life, who
cannot even drive yet be locked up with the worst of the worst in the Utah
State Prison system? Is this going to make it so that your kid when he gets out
is going to forget how he was lied to by the Prosecutors, how he was mistreated
by a Judge who it appears had no clue as to what case he was imposing sentence
on, I mean he did make the comment, “I have already sentenced two of your co-defendants
to Prison” which he had not done, but rather sentenced them to County Jail. Is
he going to say, “Oh well, that is life, but I am out now, so I will go get a
job and live happily ever after.”
NO
he is not going to do that, he is going to have a few years to build up a
hatred and distrust of the Justice System, He is going to have Two (2) felonies
on his record which is going to make it virtually impossible to get a job, or
at least a job that will pay enough that he will be able to support himself and
a family. SO what happens, he gets frustrated he gets pissed, and he becomes
what the Courts have made him, a Criminal whom will be back behind bars within
3 years, unless by some miracle he is capable of forgiving those that wronged
him, starting with his first attorney, his second attorney, the Prosecutor, the
Judge, and probably you and your ex as well for hiring the two incompetent
imbeciles that had the guts to call themselves Attorneys. And then if he is
able to do that maybe he can move forward and become a law-abiding, productive
member of society. But if he does, he will be one in twenty that is able to do
so.
This
story is not fictional, it actually happened, or rather is happening right now
to a great 16 year old kid that made a few dumb choices, 1) Wrong Friends
choice, 2) Wanting to fit in, 3) getting high and then going with these
“friends” to “buy” some Marijuana, at least that is what he was told they were
going to do. Why then did he take the two guns from his dad’s gun cabinet?
Because these new friends of his asked him to go camping overnight, where they
would do some target shooting.
The
Juvenile in this story, is Cooper Van Huizen of Ogden Utah. Because of an
answer to prayers by many supporters, Cooper now has an Attorney that if either
of his first two attorneys had worked even half as hard as she has, Cooper
would not be in the adult system.
But
Cooper’s is not an isolated case, since we began to work on this to get him
some Justice, to get him back into the Juvenile system we have been made aware
of hundreds of cases like Cooper’s that mainstream media doesn't talk about,
yes they are talking about the unfair “Life without possibility of Parole”
cases from around the Country, which are unjust and should never been allowed
to happen, but kids just like Cooper, who have never been in trouble before,
but are now locked up in Adult Prisons for long sentences. We need to stop the
abuse of our Kids by the Courts!
We need to STOP it NOW!
Huizen
and sign our Petition.
can.
