Foster Kids Sentenced to Life Without Parole

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.

Aging-Out Stats:
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For eight years, researchers have followed about 600 young adults who aged out of the child welfare systems in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. The report finds that at age 23 and 24, former foster youth are more likely than their peers to be:
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Unemployed — Less than half were employed.
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Homeless — Almost 25 percent had been homeless since exiting foster care.
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Pregnant — More than 75 percent of young women had been pregnant since leaving foster care.
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Convicted of a crime — Nearly 60 percent of young men had been convicted of a crime, and more than 80 percent had been arrested.
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Uneducated — Only 6 percent had a 2- or 4-year degree.

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.

Foster Kids Sentenced to Life Without Parole - Evan Miller's Story