Youngest Person Sentenced for Murder as an Adult in CA
Tony Hicks was only 14 years old when he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of Tariz Khamisa in 1995. Khamisa was working as a pizza delivery person and was called to deliver a pizza to a fake address in North Park, San Diego, by Hicks and other gang members. Here, Khamisa refused to hand over the pizza and the money he had on him, so he was shot and killed by Hicks. Hicks was still in Junior High School when he committed this murder. He was and still is the youngest person ever to be convicted of the death penalty as an adult in California, and the first teenager to be charged under the state law allowing an accused killer of at least 14 to be tried as an adult.
There were three other accomplices involved in the incident. Two of them were also 14-year-olds but were tried in Juvenile Court. The other was an 18-year-old, who had ordered Hicks to shoot. He was tried in Superior Court and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Sadly, Hicks had a troubling childhood. He was beaten by his parents and had a father that served time in prison. He moved to San Diego for a better life, intending to live with his grandfather. However, he ran away just weeks before this fatal shooting.
Just last month in November, Hicks was granted parole. Before the hearing, Azim Khamisa (the victim's father) said that "if the new law in 1995 hadn't been in effect at the time, Tony would have been prosecuted in Juvenile Court and paroled many years ago... Tony made a mistake... He has paid his debt to society. It is time for him to be released." Hicks had served 23 years of his sentence before the Parole Board announced that his parole had been granted. Hicks is said to be released in 2019.
This case relates to Lionel Tate, who was 13 when he was convicted of the murder of Tiffany Eunick, and to Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser who were 12 when they murdered their friend Payton Leutner. As all of these children were tried as adults, this raises the question of whether or not it is justified for children to be convicted of the same crimes as adults, given the part of their brain that can properly process the consequences of decisions isn't developed yet. I personally think that murder is heinous enough of a crime that anyone, regardless of their age, needs to receive some sort of punishment for this.
There were three other accomplices involved in the incident. Two of them were also 14-year-olds but were tried in Juvenile Court. The other was an 18-year-old, who had ordered Hicks to shoot. He was tried in Superior Court and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Sadly, Hicks had a troubling childhood. He was beaten by his parents and had a father that served time in prison. He moved to San Diego for a better life, intending to live with his grandfather. However, he ran away just weeks before this fatal shooting.
Just last month in November, Hicks was granted parole. Before the hearing, Azim Khamisa (the victim's father) said that "if the new law in 1995 hadn't been in effect at the time, Tony would have been prosecuted in Juvenile Court and paroled many years ago... Tony made a mistake... He has paid his debt to society. It is time for him to be released." Hicks had served 23 years of his sentence before the Parole Board announced that his parole had been granted. Hicks is said to be released in 2019.
This case relates to Lionel Tate, who was 13 when he was convicted of the murder of Tiffany Eunick, and to Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser who were 12 when they murdered their friend Payton Leutner. As all of these children were tried as adults, this raises the question of whether or not it is justified for children to be convicted of the same crimes as adults, given the part of their brain that can properly process the consequences of decisions isn't developed yet. I personally think that murder is heinous enough of a crime that anyone, regardless of their age, needs to receive some sort of punishment for this.
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