Now 54, Luigi has been incarcerated since he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole at age 15. His 39 years served make him the third longest serving lifer in the Nebraska prison system. His case highlights the fact that the use of life without the possibility of parole sentences in the cases of youth means that those offenders who are the youngest and least capable of good decision making are treated the most harshly of all lifers – by the end of their lives they will have served more years than those who were older and thus more culpable.
Luigi was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for killing a 49-year-old woman. He attempted to take the woman’s purse and in the ensuing struggle fatally shot her.
Luigi agreed to plead guilty to first degree murder under the condition that the County Attorney recommend he be sentenced to life without parole – as opposed to the death penalty which could still be applied to juveniles at the time Luigi was sentenced.1 (Nebraska prohibited sentencing youth under 18 to death in 19822, it was prohibited nationally by a 2005 Supreme Court decision).
Luigi has now spent almost 3/4ths of his life in prison. At 53, is he the same person as the youth we sent into prison at age 15? Are we so certain of the impossibility of growth and change in youth such as Luigi that we want to continue our policy of refusing to even revisit their cases decades down the line?
To help illustrate the distance that separates a 15-year-old from a 53-year-old, we present below two letters written by Luigi. One is an appeal Luigi filed as a 16-year-old. In the handwriting of a child, it shows the confusion and fear of a youth entering into the adult system. The next letter was written 37 years later. It was submitted by Luigi to the Judiciary Committee of the Nebraska Legislature as they considered a bill that would end the practice of sentencing youth to life without the possibility of parole in Nebraska in 2008. It shows a man who has experienced deep remorse and changes as he has struggled to come to terms with the pain he has caused to his victim’s family and his own.
Luigi’s appeal, submitted in 1971 when he was 16-years-old:
Luigi’s 2008 letter to Brad Ashford, Chairperson of the Judiciary Committee of the Nebraska Legislature:
I committed first degree murder when I was 15 years old, that was almost 38 years ago. Only two months prior to committing my crime, I was a 14 year old boy graduating from junior high school and looking forward to enjoying my summer vacation with the other boys in my neighborhood.
What I did that summer day of July 17, 1970, was indeed a terrible act on my part. I assure you that I did not wake up that morning thinking about taking another human’s life, but I did. I have relived that moment every day since then, and that sentence, of living with my actions, will indeed be a life sentence no matter the outcome of [Legislative Bill 843].
What I would like to say is that I am heartfelt remorseful for my actions and their effects to my victim’s family. I would like a chance to display my atonement by being a useful and lawabiding member of society one day. I believe that if I could have an opportunity to tell other junior high students my story and the consequences of my actions which have placed me in prison for the majority of my life, I could perhaps pursuade some of them not to listen to people who are trying to influence them to do illegal things like I did and therefor prevent them from harming an innocent person like I did and ruining their lives and bring heartache to their families.”
I am not asking that anybody put aside or subtract from what I did. I am asking only that there be notice given that I was a young boy and influenced by others at the time of my crime, and I am asking for an opportunity to make up for that terrible day by becoming a part of society where I can be productive and an example for others to learn from. Perhaps in that way some other young teenager will not ruin the lives of some innocent person or the lives of those he loves. I feel that at this time I am providing no useful purpose in life. I would like to become a tax payer instead of a tax liability.
I realize that I not only brought a great amount of grief upon my victim’s family, but I also brought a great amount of grief upon my own family as well. I want to hold my grandmother in my arms before she dies. I have two brothers and four sisters and many nieces and nephews that I would like to reconnect with. I have lost family members since I have been incarcerated. I lost one of my brothers in a drive by shooting so I have also felt the great pain caused from losing a loved one to a senseless act.
- Information from the transcript of Luigi’s arraignment, from December 31st, 1970.
- Omaha World-Herald, “High Court Narrows Executions,” 3/2/05.