Two Words That Can Get You Life in Prison

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Posted November 10th, 2008 by JTjaden

[Maybe in reality it's five words, Gang Enhancement and Guilt by Association. And The Rest of the Story tells why Gang Enhancement is flawed. Make sure to scroll down or click the header for the full article]

Two Words That Can Get You Life in Prison

By Raj Jayadev

    BEFORE REBECCA RIVERA ENTERED the California courtroom to hear if her son, Joshua Herrera, was going to face a life sentence in prison, she gathered with 40 or so supporters, who were bustling with nervous tension.

    “I talked to Joshua last night,” she said, “and he wanted us all to know that whatever happens in there—he is coming home.” She began to weep, then collected herself and walked into court.
    Rivera had done everything a mother could do to prevent her son from receiving a life sentence. She had brought his story to politicians, students, church congregations and biker clubs. She had organized marches, rallies and press conferences, and she had facilitated a letter-writing campaign. It paid off. Sort of.
    In the courtroom, Judge Arthur Bocanegra delivered Herrera’s sentence: 19 years. Rivera’s deepest fears vanished. The only time a mother can celebrate her son being sent to prison for 19 years is when it could have been for life.

    With no significant criminal record, no history of violence and a promising future as a firefighter, 24-year-old Herrera had faced a life sentence in a level-four prison. The stiff sentence was based on what is called a “gang enhancement,” which was tacked onto charges against Herrera as a result of a get-tough-on-gangs law passed in Sacramento, California, in 1988.

    Herrera’s case is emblematic of the deep flaws inherent in that law, the Street Terrorism Enforcement and Protection (STEP) Act. Critics say the legislation, which targets and defines people as “gang members”—a politically charged and legally ambiguous term—has resulted in sentences disproportionate to the crimes.
    Since the inception of STEP in California, more than half of all states and the District of Columbia have passed similar gang laws. And Congress has recently begun introducing legislation to make gang-related crimes a federal offense. There are at least eight proposals to address gang violence pending in the House and Senate. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2007 (S. 456) has already passed the Senate, and the bill’s language draws heavily from that found in STEP. A similar bill—the Gang Prevention, Intervention and Suppression Act (HR 3547)—has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California. If voted into law, it would create federal criminal penalties for gang crimes.

Here's where Paul Harvey would tell us The Rest of the Story

    In 2003, Joshua Herrera, then 19 years old, returned to his hometown of San Jose. Tall and lanky, he had grown up there with his mother, who worked a full-time job and took night courses on business management. His uncles were active in the Latino community, serving as ministers and working as school principles. Herrera spent his summers doing jobs at the law firms where his mother was employed. He finished his high school years in Florida, where he lived with his father, and then enrolled in an Emergency Medical Technician program. After finishing the program, Herrera decided to become a firefighter, moved back to San Jose and enrolled in Mission College’s firefighter academy. His family bought him a car so he could transport his firefighter gear to school and back.

    Five months after his return home, Herrera was out one night with friends. He drove three of them to the home of Thomas Martinez, a boyfriend of one of the young men’s mother. The men wanted to confront Martinez, who had allegedly abused the mother, and retrieve her belongings from the house.
    Herrera stayed in the car while his friends entered the home. Martinez fled the scene and later claimed that one of the defendants had a shotgun. According to court testimony, Martinez was assaulted by one of the defendants, Richard Rodriguez. According to police reports, the young men returned to the car with a safe and two ounces of methamphetamines.
    After dropping off his friends, Herrera was pulled over by police three blocks from his family home. His car, it would later be revealed, had been under surveillance by detectives investigating one of Herrera’s friends. He was arrested on the spot.

    Three years later, Herrera and his codefendants were found guilty of home invasion robbery. To his conviction was added a “186.22,” named for the section of California penal code that gives extra time, potentially life, for a connection to gang activity. During Herrera’s trial, San Jose Police Department gang expert Greg Limbardo testified to the young man’s affiliation with a Norteño gang. Limbardo presented evidence that included red T-shirts found in the family home (reportedly from Herrera’s high school days) and photographs of Herrera with self-admitted gang members.

    During sentencing on March 20, 2008, prosecuting attorney David Ezgar reiterated his argument that Herrera was undeniably linked to the gang with a multimedia PowerPoint presentation complete with photos, alleged drawings of gang letters by Herrera and even videos accompanied by rap songs promoting gang life.

    At one point, Ezgar showed a picture of Herrera and a dozen or so other alleged gang members at a park. His pointer dropped arrows from the top of the screen identifying serious felony convictions that had been given to the young men surrounding Herrera, yet none ever dropped on Herrera specifically. He was guilty by association.

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