Foster Kids Sentenced to Life Without Parole - Evan Miller's Story
The purpose of this series of posts is to show the public some of the most drastic effects of children being placed in foster care as children. I will be featuring youth that committed crimes and were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
A huge percentage of foster care youth have been accused of crimes or have been involved with law enforcement within the first few years after they turned 18 years old (the age at which most children “age out” of foster care.) Many become homeless. One-third of the former foster care children that were tracked in three Midwest states had “high level” of involvement with the criminal justice system.
This Article Striking Back in Anger: Delinquency and Crime in Foster Children determined through their independent studies that foster children who experience multiple movements within the foster care system were more likely to engage in delinquency as compared to children with no movements. The temporary nature of foster care and its uncertainty contributed to a significantly higher outcome of delinquency and crime. Children and adolescents who experienced repeated separations and are constantly subjected to the threat of abandonment are subject to becoming violently angry and dysfunctional.
In Travis Hirschi's theory of Social Bondingfrom his 1969 book “Causes of Delinquency" he focuses on understanding of the causes of juvenile delinquency. Hirschi states that the ‘bond’ resides in the child and involves four factors or systems: Attachment, Commitment, Involvement, and Belief. He states that children lacking adequate levels of attachment are believed to be free from moral restraints and are apt to act on impulse, without a conscience or feeling for others.
A report by Kingsley in 2009 in support of the Hirschi theory concluded that the lack of relationships and attachments is a significant cause of juvenile delinquency.
Evan Miller's Story
Classification: Homicide
Characteristics: Juvenile (14) - Robbery - Arson
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: July 15, 2003
Date of birth: November 2, 1988
Victim profile: Cole C. Cannon, 52 (his neighbor)
Method of murder: Beating with a baseball bat - Inhalation of products of combustion
Location: Lawrence County, Alabama, USA
Status: Sentenced to life in prison without parole on October 20, 2006
Photo Credit: murderpedia.org
Evan Miller was 14 in 2003 when he beat his neighbor to death with a baseball bat and then set fire to his trailer. Evan threw a sheet over the man’s head and shouted, “I am God, I’ve come to take your life.” Cole Cannon, died from his injuries and smoke inhalation.
Evan attempted suicide four times, the first when he was six. He had been in and out of foster care due to the fact that his stepfather beat him and his mother abused drugs and alcohol. One of Evan's mother’s drug dealers , Cannon, had spent that night smoking pot and playing drinking games with Evan and his friend before they robbed and killed him. A jury convicted Evan of murder and sentenced in 2006 to life without the possibility of parole. His friend was offered a life sentence with the possibility of parole in exchange for his testimony against Evan.
Read More of Evan's Story:
Was Evan Miller ‘The Rare Juvenile’ Who Deserved Life Without Parole?
The Supreme Court of the United States - Miller v. Alabama
Evan Miller Offers Apology As Resentencing Hearing Wraps- By Matt Smith | March 15, 2017
Evan Miller leaves the Lawrence County, Alabama, courthouse after the first day of his resentencing hearing on Monday, March 13, 2017.
Candy Cheatham with a photograph of her father as an adult and with one of him as a child which survived the fire that took her father's life.
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Read - "Life as a Foster Child - Facts and Stories"
Read - My Personal Story of Sexual Abuse in My Family - Part 111 - Under The Tree House
Read - My Personal Story of Sexual Abuse in My Family - Part IV - What Happened to the Abusers?
Read - My Personal Story of Sexual Abuse in My Family -The Conclusion
If you would like to read some of the previous stories of "My Life as a Detention Officer," You will find the links listed on this post by @canadian-coconut:
CPS and Foster Care Abuses: -- INDEX of PUBLISHED STORIES now on the Steemit Blockchain
Please take the time to read, upvote and resteem the above post to show your 100% support for this cause. Also, please visit the blogs of these authors and consider doing the same. Most of these cases are still on-going and any financial support you can give them could make a difference in whether these family units can be saved!
What Is @familyprotection? What Are The Rules? How Do I Donate?
If you are concerned about where these funds are going, please take the time to read this post:
We are Family Protection, Keeping Families Safe, Together
@markwhittam grew up in the care of CPS and then many years later he and his family had to flee their country under threats from the state to take their child because they home schooled.
Linda, @canadian-coconut, started @familyprotection because she has helped several families who have been torn apart at the hands of the legal kidnappers aka. Child Protection Services.
It is up to us as a Community to uncover the truth and spread this truth worldwide!
If you or someone you know have children that are now wards of the state and/or government, we encourage you to share your story. If you are an underage youth caught up in this insane cycle of abuse and control..Please share your story..If you have friends in abusive situations..Please have them share their story. We here at steemit.com have caring people that that are willing to help you in anyway we can.
If you wish to donate in support of this project, please do so by sending your donations in the form of Steem, Steem Power and or SBD to @familyprotection
Show your support for @familyprotection, @markwhittam, and @canadian-coconut by visiting their blogs, leaving comments revelent to this most worthy cause, upvoting and resteeming as many of these posts as you feel drawn to do.
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Active Posts by The Three Hugs
MAHALO FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!
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Indeed, the people who make up the system are responsible for what in the future can become these children in criminals, or that the situation of the street leads them to perform certain crimes. So they do not work for the well-being of the children but they generate in them certain needs, anxiety and suffering for being separated from their relatives, put in shelters or in families where they receive physical or verbal abuse.
I invite you to review my publications where I show, the work we do with the benefits obtained here, we bring food to children who live in the street, I hope you support us to continue making this possible.
Thanks my friend and I will check your posts.
thank you for sharing these quite shocking facts.. 75% of the young women pregnant after gettin out of foster care.. I guess in foster care they dont need sexual education? My lord.. these high numbers get to you thinking about how many children affected by this :(
Yes I knew the numbers would be high but was a bit surprised myself at how high. The public needs to know how their actions affects not only their children but also can be extremely harmful to others.
thanks @thethreehugs
You are welcome
Absolutely no child should be sentenced to life without parole, no matter how severe the crime. Sad to see this going on. People make poor judgements and need to learn. Life without parole is not the way to learn. Thanks @thethreehugs.
You are so right on my friend. I'm asking myself why I tackle projects like this because the more research I do involving youth and cps, the more I realize how screwed up the entire system is.
hello friend, you are right and the worst of all is that it is basically the fault of the system that these children commit crimes since they seek an easy way out to that emotional loneliness generated by being in shelters or substitute families that often cause physical and mental damage
Yes, it is sad that these children get so messed up all because of a system that doesn't car about them, they only care about the money they can make by keeping them in jail.
I hope the purpose of this series of posts will be succeed
Thanks my friend.
nice post. friend.
i like your post. thank you for share.
Thank you 😊