Raise violent teenage crime to adult court CHUCK CADMAN says he has always approached life as it comes. By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter The most grim reality he has ever had to deal with was the senseless murder of his 16-year-old son, Jesse. Jesse was stabbed on Oct. 18. 1992, about seven blocks from his Surrey home. The altercation leading to Jesse’s death was sparked when young man in a group of five disapproved of a piece of licorice Jesse had taped to his White Sox baseball hat. “He felt this was disrespectful to the White Sox .” said Cadman, Just before the murder, Jesse and two friends had stepped off a bus. The two groups of teens didn’t know each other. Jesse’ murderer, Issac Deas, was 16 at the time. Deas was raised to adult court and received the maximum possible sentence for a person under age 18, He was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 10 years. A North Shore lawyer with more than half of his clients under the age of 18 said that Deas’ conviction shows that the Young Offenders Act (YOA) works. “The guy was raised to adult court, and he was given a life sentence. He got basically the maximum you can get in this country,” said David Walsoff. . Walsoff said that he finds it frustrating when people look at the worst-case scenario and say the YOA doesn’t work. “The Young Offenders Act is not the end all and be all ... It is not going to prevent crime from happening; it’s only reac- tive,” said Walsoff. Cadman acknowledges that-few teen criminals commit vio- lent and brutal crimes such as murder. inquiring reporter But he said, “There is still some feel- ing out there that these kids are just doing kids’ things. Some of the things these kids are doing are not kids" things.” Examples of brutal crimes commit- ted by teens include Jesse Cadman’s murder and the recent sex slaying of a lite girl near Courtenay. “People have to understand that these (the young offenders) are not just kids out getting into a@ fitle trouble,” said Cadman, In Cadman’s case, Deas was facing three-property related charges and was under a court-imposed curfew at the time he murdered Jesse. Deas did not have a criminal record as a young offender. In the Courtenay sex murder, the young offender involved had carlier appeared in youth court on a related charge. “From the lobbying point of view, our efforts are definitely towards having all violent crimes raised to adult court,” said Cadman. ; He said the crime categories would include aggravated assault, sex assault and murder. The Liberal government is toying with changes to the YOA, which it promised to be toughened up during the federal cam- paign. The federal justice department said a recent public con- sultation indicated there was a “profound dissatisfaction” with the current treatment of violent young offenders. Meanwhile Walsoff said people should look at why a “kid got to be this bad” and put resources into those findings instead of criticizing the YOA. NEWS photo Paul McGrath CHUCK CADMAN holds up a picture of his murdered son, Jesse, during Thursday's panel discussion on youth violence at Capilano College. He said community resources such as teen drop-in centres and programs to help troubled youths may prevent youth crime. Cadman said one of reasons he has become so public is because he feels victims “should be made into real people.” “As opposed to a name you read in a newspaper. ! believe we need to tell what these people were all about and that they are no longer with us,” said Cadman, adding that becoming vocal is also a therapy process for his family. Cadman said victims such as himself have no standing in * court especially in murder cases where the primary victim, in his case, Jesse, was dead. “Usually a victim is just treated like a witness... Unless you See Cadman page 18 ILI jo you think youth violence is a problem Chantai Barbier North Vancouver I think there is less youth vio- lence in North Vancouver because there’s a sense of community and responsibility. It’s actually why we chose to live here. I think big cities like : Vancouver alienate youth. (SURVEY TEAM _ Ray Baroni North Vancouver I would say yes it’s still a prob- lem, but it’s not as bad now as it used to be. There used to be a lot more youth violence a few years ago in Lynn Valley and around lower Lonsdale. Donna Robertson North Vancouver It's never happened to me per- sonally, but what I read in the papers is that we have some vio- lence. In my_ neighborhood | always feel very safe, I watk around, and I never see any young people hassling anyone. PRATER aT NO OPINION 2.1% THE NORTH Shore News survey team tele- phoned 449 North and West Vancouver residents to find out whether you think youth violence is a problem on the North Shore. The following pie charts contain a breakdown of survey results: Vernon Cartier North Vancouver J don’t think so. 1 haven't seen any. NO OPINION on the North Shore? Pat Docherty North Vancouver 1 don’t know about the North Shore specifically, but youth vio- lence is definitely a problem. I think the Young Offenders Act just really gives kids permission to do whatever they want. NEWS gruphic Robyn Brown