SACRAMENTO, Calif — Keymontae Lindsey is now a free man after being convicted for killing a Grant High School teen back in 2015.
Lindsey was 15 years old when he was convicted of killing J.J. Clavo. Because of his age and Senate Bill 1391, he was not tried as an adult. On Tuesday, Lindsay was released from custody.
"If you are under 16, at the time of a serious crime, like this murder under 16, the longest they can hold you is to your 25th birthday," said Mark Reichel.
As a criminal defense attorney, Reichel has defended a lot of people accused of serious crimes. Isiah Fowler was one of them. He was 12 years old at the time he was convicted for stabbing his sister to death in Calavaras County.
"He was brought in, tried in the juvenile system and convicted, but the longest they could hold him was age 25," said Reichel.
Like Fowler's case and Lindsey's, both of them avoided being tried as adults because of Senate Bill 1391. The bill was passed in 2015 and protects minors accused of major crimes. Reichel says this law benefits these minors.
"It's sad on one side, because you have juveniles that have committed violent crimes, but in all fairness to them, their brain really hasn't developed enough to understand this," he said.
For the families that have lost a loved one due to these crimes, Faith Whitmore sympathizes with their pain. She's the CEO for the Family Justice Center, helping support families that are victims of crimes.
"To know that the one responsible is out, I think it must be horrifically hard for the family and for the community who loved that young man," Whitemore said.
While she agrees brains may not be fully developed at a young age, Whitemore says it's a concern to know a convicted murderer is no longer behind bars.
"It doesn't seem right that it's all or nothing, just because of an age factor," she said.
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