On November 9th, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments challenging the constitutionality of juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) sentences. In preparation for oral arguments, JLWOP: Faces & Cases will be an on-going series on The Foundry that will tell real stories about juvenile offenders who are currently serving LWOP sentences.
Defendant: Adam Sarabia (16)
Victims: John Ramirez and Joann Wotkyn
Crimes: Two counts of first degree murder, residential burglary and auto theft
Crime date: October 21, 2004 in Santa Paula, California
Summary
Adam Sarabia broke into a home and bludgeoned and stabbed a man and woman to death before stealing their car. He used their cell phone to brag to his friends about the crime.
Facts
John Ramirez and Joann Wotkyn, a couple in their 50s, were asleep in their bed in the early morning hours of October 21, 2004. They lived in a neat two-story house in the city of Santa Paula, California.
Adam Sarabia entered the home through an unlocked garage door. Armed with a baseball bat, he slipped into the sleeping couple’s bedroom and hit them repeatedly times with the bat, aiming for their heads and faces.
Sarabia then went downstairs to the kitchen, where he found a knife, and returned to the bedroom to stab and slash Ramirez and Wotkyn. He left the bedroom, walked downstairs, and took the car keys from Wotkyn’s purse. He drove off in the family car, cruising around town and showing the car off to friends before abandoning it at a shopping center after learning that the bodies had been discovered.
Sarabia also took the victims’ cell phone, which he used to call his friends.
When he was arrested, Sarabia was wearing a sweatshirt that had tiny blood spatters on the sleeves. The blood-stained baseball bat was found in Sarabia’s garage, and the cell phone and a pair of blood-spattered tennis shoes were found in his bedroom. The blood was a match for Ramirez and Wotkyn.
According to the prosecutor, Senior Deputy District Attorney Richard E. Simon, Sarabia showed no remorse for the violent murders:
Sarabia is a pure sociopath who committed two horrific murders against two innocent victims with whom he had no connection. His reaction to his crime was completely unremorseful and cold-blooded. The interview with Sarabia was chilling. He never admitted to the crime, nor did he deny it. He just didn’t seem to care. If I could have gone for the death penalty, I gladly would have. I believe Adam Sarabia is one of the most evil human beings I have ever prosecuted. He is a poster boy for life without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders.
Violent crime fell in America last year, the first full year of the recession, according to new data from the FBI. Auto theft and other property crime also was down despite the recession, although burglary was up.
In general, the social science literature has indicated a correlation between unemployment rates and property crime rates. Violent crimes, though, appear to be unaffected by joblessness rates. Although there appears to be an association between property crime and unemployment, the fact remains that the decision to commit a crime is a choice.
For most of us, the loss of a job will not provoke us to steal from our neighbors.
In a previous post, I noted the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ new National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) showed crime declined in 2008. The FBI data are based upon crimes officially reported to police departments across the nation; the NCVS data are based on a nationally representative survey. One key distinction is that the NCVS includes crimes that were not reported.
Some details of the FBI data on violent crime:
• The overall rate dropped from 466.9 incidents per 100,000 residents in 2007 to 454.5 incidents in 2008—a decrease of 2.7 percent.
• Murder fell from 5.6 incidents per 100,000 to 5.4 incidents—a decrease of 3.6 percent.
• Rape dropped from 30 incidents per 100,000 to 29.3—a decrease of 2.3 percent.
• Robbery was down from 147.6 incidents per 100,000 to 145.3 —a decrease of 1.6 percent.
• Aggravated assault dropped from 283.8 incidents to 274.6 incidents—a decrease of 3.2 percent.
The FBI data show a less consistent trend for property crime:
• The overall rate dropped from 3,263.5 incidents per 100,000 residents in 2007 to 3,212.5 incidents last year—a decrease of 1.6 percent.
• Burglary increased from 722.5 incidents per 100,000 to 730.8—an increase of 1.1 percent.
• Motor vehicle theft dropped from 363.3 incidents per 100,000 to 314.7—a decrease of 13.4 percent.
• Larceny dipped only slightly from 2,177.8 incidents per 100,000 to 2,167—a decrease of 0.5 percent.