LaKeith, who was 15 years old at the time, and some of his pals broke into two vacant homes in Millbrook, Alabama, in February 2015.
When neighborhood police officers arrived on the scene, the teens were still inside one of the residences.
A’Donte Washington, a 16-year-old companion of LaKeith, was shot and killed by one of the officers during that interaction.
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LaKeith was the youngest member of the group, yet he was prosecuted as an adult instead of being allowed to be tried as a juvenile.
He was found guilty of stealing, burglary, and felony murder, which made him legally liable for A’Donte’s passing. According to Alabama’s felony murder law:
“A person commits the crime of murder if he/she commits or attempts to commit [a felony] and, in the course of and in furtherance of the crime that he/she is committing or attempting to commit, or in immediate flight therefrom, he/she, or another participant if there be any, causes the death of any person.”
LaKeith lost a friend and now faces spending the next 50 years in prison even though A’Donte wasn’t slain by a participant in the crime.
The punishment given to LaKeith did not correspond to the offense he committed or his legal duty.
It also doesn’t accurately portray his youth or his exceptional potential for transformation.
LaKeith, a non-violent 15-year-old with no prior convictions, received a 30-year sentence for the felony murder charge, guaranteeing he would essentially spend the rest of his life behind bars.
He had already received 15 years for the burglary charge and 10 years for each of the two theft of property charges.