Dear State Attorney Corey:

We, the undersigned, are writing you in reference to 12 year old Cristian Fernandez to urge you to drop the charge of first degree murder against him in adult court. We respectfully ask that you instead allow his case to be tried in juvenile court. If convicted, the juvenile court system is structured to provide Cristian with rehabilitative resources he would not have access to in the adult prison system. You have already received reports from experts that Christian is a child who can be reformed.

Cristian Fernandez is a minor child, but also he is a very young minor child. This is not a case involving a 17 year old who has committed a string of robberies, or a home invasion resulting in a killing. It is a crime that, if he is culpable, occurred in a completely dysfunctional home in which he received no guidance, supervision or parenting. Your office is currently seeking to convict him on charges that demonstrate the highest degree of culpability. If he is found guilty, Cristian will receive a life without parole sentence.

Sentencing a juvenile under the age of 18 to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is in violation of international law per the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The United States became a party to this treaty agreement in 1992. Even in nations that allow such sentencing, it was estimated in 2007 that no more than 12 juveniles outside of the United States had received a sentence of life without parole, while the U.S. had more than 2,200.

The issue has recently been settled for juveniles in the United States who are convicted of non-homicide offenses. While the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Graham v. Florida left open the issue of such a sentence in a homicide case, it is unlikely that a majority of that court would approve of it for a child who was 12 years old at the time of the alleged offense.

Cristian Fernandez is a juvenile and should be treated as such in the criminal justice system. He has experienced physical, sexual, and emotional abuse for which he never received appropriate treatment. The release of court documentation and police reports, obtained by various members of the media, fail to demonstrate this child participated in premeditated murder.

We implore you to do the right thing by this child and allow his case to be tried where it belongs – in the juvenile criminal justice system. We appreciate your consideration in this very important matter.

Yours sincerely,