..... This was not a robery gone bad, this is a child gone bad. Just 18 years old.
So, we get to spend millions of dollars on his defense and caretaking over the next 25 years of his life to try to complete a death penalty.
At 18 he is NOT a child. Neither was the strong arm thug in Ferguson, who was 19, 6'6", 295 lbs, who had just strong-arm robbed a tobacco store.
In 1987 I was asked by the York County Attorney to investigate a murder that took place near Henderson. A 14 year old adopted boy, Sydney Thieszen, shot his 12 year old adopted step-sister in the head after she refused his sexual advances and said she was going to "tell mom and dad". He had been molesting here for a while but she was beginning menses and was afraid she might get pregnant. She took what she thought was the lesser of two fears.
His attorney was calling it an accident and wanted 3rd degree. The state wanted 1st degree. My investigation uncovered proof that he had molested her after he killed her. His attorney immediately agreed to a 2nd Degree deal and the boy was sentenced to 40 years, instead of the death penalty. Nobody wanted to execute a boy, even for murder. The case never went to trial.
Ten years later, in 1997, the Chief Justice of the NE Supreme Court threw out all 2nd murder convections, it is rumored he did that because his grand nephew had a 2nd degree drunken driving manslaughter conviction.
Jail house lawyers advised Thieszen to get a retrial. Apparently they told him that the detectives had retired and moved out of state, or died, evidence was missing, etc... Sydney Thieszen got a new trial. I had kept my evidence under "chain of custody" (lock and key) for the entire 10 years. I still have it.
The state went for 1st degree again. I testified at the new trial in 1997. Two psychiatrists testified that he had a pathological hatred of women and should never be released from prison. (One of my college physics students, who later got a PhD from Dartmouth, took time out from school and was a guard on the block where Thieszen was housed. He said that Thieszen put pictures of women on his cell wall and then defaced them by various means. He was never asked to testify.) The jury heard all the facts and returned a verdict of guilty of 1st Degree murder with no chance of parole.
All done and over with, right? I would have thought so, too. Beginning in 2000, five "social justice" groups began pleading for juveniles with life terms without parole to get their sentences ruled as unconstitutional cruel or unusual punishment. They succeeded. In the summer of 2012 the SCOTUS ruled what they wanted.
I didn't learn about it until November of 2012, when a relative of my wife, who lives a few houses from the natural daughter of the family that Thieszen was adopted into told her, and she told me. I contacted the NE Board of Paroles, and asked to be notified of any changes in his sentencing. I never heard from them again, but I frequent their web page to see if there is any activity in this case. Meanwhile, of the last 20 years, at yours and my expense, Thieszen completed course work for a law degree! As a convicted felon he can never practice but he can continually file harassment cases if he ever gets out. However, he has frequently made statements like "I wish I had thrown a toaster into her bath water", etc..., referring to his adopted mother. The Thieszan family sold their farm home and went into hiding. I quickly decided that I needed a CHP and a weapon.
More than two dozen prisoners were affected by the SCOTUS ruling. Some are pushing for commutation of sentence for time served. In Thieszen's case 26 years. But, with his legal training he's seems to be calling all his shots. He chose to seek hearing separate from the others. After a lot of political court activity Theiszen got a court date to get "re-sentenced" last March. Then it was moved to June 9th. Then it was moved to September 10th, nine days ago. There has been no notice of postponement and no news of any results of the court action that day. The judge had set aside the entire day for that case. The 5th District court of Nebraska has posted no news of any kind about that case.
Sasha Thieszen is resting in the box she was buried in 27 years ago. Completely forgotten. No one seems to care that she cannot buff up or earn a law degree at tax payer expense. Her casket does not come equipped with cable TV, nor does she have access to free food, clothes, shower or restroom facility, none of which she could use anyway. She will never know what it is like to find a husband, make a family, enjoy grandchildren and have a life. She will get no "social justice". Neither will her mother, father and step sisters and brothers, one of whom has declared that if Thieszen ever gets out of prison he will kill him.
150 years ago, a tree outside town following a trial the next day and it was over. We really need to fix our broken justice system in this country. This mothers son does not deserve our tax dollars to this degree.
I dont think we need more prisons, we need more punishment. Prison today are fancier than hotels I have stayed in. AC, football games on big screen TVs, central heating, three hot meals a day.
We incarcerate more people in this country than any place on Earth. We need to start education for small kids about right and wrong. Respect for elders.
Mudineryi has laid it out correctly. It cannot be fixed because the majority of people do not have the moral foundation to see that it needs to change. When the economy of this country collapses the problems will only increase. See Detroit for a preview, and imagine Detroit is nation wide. After people get good sick and tired of thugs, both the street and political variety, running wild perhaps they'll begin to reverse things. I am not optimistic.
