For those wondering what's really happening here, this something like the third separate time Slog has had a convicted murderer (a killing he committed as an adult, unannounced in the article of course) write about unjust sentencing. Maybe writing this stuff helps in their appeals process? What is going on in the WA state prison system where every inmate has been convinced the real tragedy is the lack of deference and compassion showed to them?

Many people might reasonably think unrepentant killers like this should spend the rest of their life in a constant state of shame and terror. For me, is it so much to ask they at least spend it in silent contrition?

I was out as soon as he referred to the law as racist. It's not racist. Racism is just an easy thing to slap on something because everyone knows racism = bad but when you do lazy stuff like this you get idiotic statements like when Lorena Gonzales said jaywalking laws are racist. Beyond that if someone commits violent crimes as a youth and then continues to commit violent crimes as an adult the youth record should absolutely be considered. The flip side of this case is Ja'Mari Jones, the killer of tuba man. Here is someone that point blank shot a man 5 times in cold blood. Should we not consider the fact he already killed someone as a youth when looking at his sentencing?

Well done. Anyone who has taken a university level statistics course would agree that while even if not racist in intent (questionable) these laws are racist in outcome.

45 years for shoplifting model cars does seem excessive. Since that's the only crime mentioned here, I assume that's what he's in for.

@4, it isn't racist at all to incarcerate people when they commit violent crime (as the vast majority of people in prison are there for), at the exact rate they commit crime. Perhaps, in the interest of disclosing conflicts of interest, future articles like this could have a subtitle like: "Disclaimer: Author is a violent career criminal and murderous psychopath attempting to lower his sentence, which he blames you for".

conquistadors
by any other name
deny conquering Indigenous
or excuse it away as manifesting Destiny

and Reparations are
too vastly Terrifying
to Contemplate so
we let 'em Rot in
Prison the Price
'we' Pay for all
this "Free"
Land.

@1 and 7 juvenile adjudications definitionally aren't criminal convictions, that's why they're in a whole different court as 1 alluded to. Try to know what you're talking about before you comment

@10 and 11 doubling down on not knowing wtf you're talking about, bold strategy.

Let me try to help. 11, "regular juvenile court proceedings" do not result in criminal convictions. And the referenced law passed so as of late July last year there's no such thing as "juvenile points" the only question is whether that applies retroactively. 10 I don't think there's any helping you unfortunately

RCW 13.40.020(22) "'Offense' means an act designated a violation or a crime if committed by an adult under the law of this state, under any ordinance of any city or county of this state, under any federal law, or under the law of another state if the act occurred in that state"

RCW 13.04.011(1) "'Adjudication' has the same meaning as 'conviction' in RCW 9.94A.030, but only for the purposes of sentencing under chapter 9.94A RCW