State of Washington v. Delbosque

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The ACLU of Washington co-signed an amici curiae brief and motion filed by the Korematsu Center in State of Washington v. Cristian Delbosque on July 29th, 2019. In 1994, 17-year-old Cristian Delbosque was convicted of murder of another juvenile. He was originally sentenced to life without parole, then resentenced under the Miller-fix statute to 48 years to life. The brief argues that Delbosque was sentenced without adequate consideration for youth as a mitigating factor and that the superior court's findings, which suggested that Delbosque was permanently incorrigible and irretrievable depraved, were not substantially supported. The vast majority of youthful offenders are capable of rehabilitation and deserving of meaningful opportunities for release. The brief calls for the Washington State Supreme Court to recognize that Delbosque is one of these youth and deserves a re-sentencing hearing with adequate consideration of a minimum sentence of 25 years. The brief also asks the court to rule more broadly that, unless the State can prove by clear and convincing evidence that a particular juvenile does not have the "hallmark features" of youth, a sentencing court must  provide opportunities for release by always setting the minimum sentence at 25 years