Our lives changed tragically when we lost our beloved Andres, the first-born child of our family and the only son, at the tender age of 17. He was mercilessly taken away from us by a 15-year-old who committed murder. Amid our grief, we are facing the heart-wrenching reality that the murderer, despite his violent act, cannot be charged adequately due to his age under current rulings of Proposition 57 and Sections 707a, 707b, and 707c. This stipulation allows teens between 14 and 15 to walk free after short sentences regardless of the severity of their crimes.

⚖️ What We’re Asking For
In honor of Andres, we demand that California lawmakers take action by reforming Proposition 57 and passing Andres’s Law to:

✅ Allow violent juvenile offenders to be tried as adults when appropriate
✅ Ensure serious crimes are met with serious consequences, regardless of age
✅ Restore justice, balance, and safety to California communities
This is not about being harsh. This is about being fair.
If you're old enough to commit a violent crime, you should be old enough to face the consequences.

 

This inadequacy of our justice system is a blatant insult to the victims and their grieving families. It is not acceptable for minors to evade full punishment based on their age, despite engaging in severe crimes like murder, rape, and armed robbery. We believe there's an urgent need for reform.

We are not alone in this struggle. Many families suffer like us in silence when the law fails to deliver justice. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, approximately 1,000 juveniles were arrested for serious crimes including murder in 2019. This number is not just a statistic; every single one represents a devastated family, like ours, denied rightful justice due to the limitations on sentencing for those aged 14-15.

We urge for a thorough review and amendment of Proposition 57 and Sections 707a, 707b, and 707c. Justice should be age-blind. Sentencing should not be lenient merely because the violent act has been committed by a minor. The law must be reformed to reflect the severity of the crime committed, not the age of the offender. This frayed law leaves the victims' families helpless and the offenders unpunished, thus enabling and encouraging the recurrence of such heinous crimes.

We humbly request your support to amend this legal inadequacy. We should not allow our youngsters to believe they can evade rightful punishment for their actions. Sign our petition and let us work together to bring about this much-needed change. Your signature will not only honor Andre's memory but protect future victims and guarantee justice irrespective of the perpetrator's age.

We also are asking for this:

⚖️ What We’re Asking For
In honor of Andres, we demand that California lawmakers take action by reforming Proposition 57 and passing Andres’s Law to:

✅ Allow violent juvenile offenders to be tried as adults when appropriate
✅ Ensure serious crimes are met with serious consequences, regardless of age
✅ Restore justice, balance, and safety to California communities
This is not about being harsh. This is about being fair.
If you're old enough to commit a violent crime, you should be old enough to face the consequences.