A 'life without possibility': State to decide whether young killers will be given parole

BY Brandi Kruse  on January 14, 2013 @ 3:35 am (Updated: 10:44 am - 1/14/13 )

On Sept. 20, 1992, Guy and Ara Gilbert got a message on their answering machine that they will never forget.

It was from the Klickitat County sheriff, who had just arrested their 15-year-old son, Jeremiah.

In a remote canyon 20 miles east of Goldendale, Wash., Jeremiah and another teen took the lives of two men: 35-year-old Robert David Gresham and 26-year-old Loren Evans.

The boys ran away from their homes in Buckley and went on a "dope and drinking run," as Jeremiah recalled. Armed with a rifle, Jeremiah shot Gresham and Evans while trying to steal a Ford Bronco.

He was convicted on two counts of aggravated, first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"I can remember driving home (from the trial), crying all the way home; realizing that we'd never have our son home again," said his father, Guy Gilbert.

Now 36, Jeremiah James Gilbert is incarcerated at the corrections center in Clallam Bay. But after 20 years behind bars, he could be released due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed his sentence unconstitutional.

Gilbert is one of 30 inmates in the state of Washington currently serving life without parole for crimes they committed as juveniles; a mandatory sentence here for those convicted of aggravated, first-degree murder before the age of 18.

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that life without parole cannot be the only option for children who kill.

"It's absolutely the case that children don't understand the consequences, and the lifetime consequences, not only for themselves but also for the victim," said Nick Straley, a staff attorney in the Institutions Project for Columbia Legal Services, a non-profit law firm based in Seattle.

Straley said the state legislature must now decide how to come into compliance with the SCOTUS ruling. He would like to see inmates such as Jeremiah Gilbert be given an opportunity for parole.

"These are awful crimes, and no one is suggesting that there shouldn't be some level of punishment," he said. "What we are suggesting is that there needs to be an evaluation, both at the front end to evaluate the nature of the crime and the child's circumstances, and a determination made based on that individual."

Straley said Gilbert would be an ideal candidate for parole. He teaches other inmates release preparedness at Clallam Bay and participates in a program where prisoners train dogs for adoption; his is a husky-lab mix named Lily.

"He's really tried to turn his life around," Straley said. "He, I think, is indicative of the efforts that can be made over a long period of time in prison to better yourself."

"He came in as a child, and over time he has grown up and his brain has developed and he has realized he made some horrid, awful, terrible mistakes and he's coming to grips with those."

According to a survey commissioned by Columbia Legal Services and conducted by a class at the University of Washington, only six percent of people in Washington would oppose parole for children ages 13 to 15 who commit murder.

Jim Gleason, who was the sheriff in Klickitat County in 1992, said he would oppose parole for Gilbert, who he likened to Sandy Hook gunman Adam Lanza and Aurora movie theater shooter James Holmes.

Gleason, now retired and living in Oregon, recalled the murders vividly. He said Gilbert told investigators he shot Evans twice to "put them out of his misery."

On a recent Sunday afternoon inside their home in Wenatchee, Guy and Ara Gilbert flipped through a book of photos. One picture showed Jeremiah on his father's shoulders when he was just a toddler. In another, Jeremiah grinned for his first-grade class photo.

"I missed that I didn't have him as a son letting me do fatherly things like teach him how to drive, his first dates, growing into a family," Guy Gilbert said.

"Our first grandchild from him - we won't have any," said Ara.

They say their son has become a better person behind bars, and hope to make up for two decades of lost time. Guy Gilbert said those who disagree should look back at their 15-year-old selves.

"I would want them to think about some of the things they did when they were fifteen," he said. "Have they matured? Have they grown? Have they gotten beyond those things and would they ever go back and do those things? Probably not."

During an interview in July 2012 for an unrelated story, Jeremiah Gilbert spoke with KIRO Radio about the possibility of release.

"I am a realist," he said. I have steeled myself for the possibility of being told, 'We decide you are still worthy of your life sentence and that's what we're staying with.'"

In a letter written on Dec. 10, 2012, Gilbert said he is working to develop family and community ties should he be granted parole.

"I haven't a clue how much longer I'll be imprisoned," he wrote. "I do, however know I'll not waste a minute more merely existing."

The state legislature is expected to take up the issue of juvenile life without parole sentences this session, which begins on Monday.

Brandi Kruse, KIRO Radio Reporter
Brandi Kruse is a reporter for KIRO Radio who is as spontaneous and adventurous in her free time as she is on the job. Brandi arrived at KIRO Radio in March 2011 and has already collected three regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her reporting.
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Comments (30)


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  • JMGilday wrote...
    that part about 'no grandchildren'
    January 14, 2013 10:12 am
    really ripped my heart out. But then I thought, some family lines need to be extinguished
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Dope and drinking run?
    January 14, 2013 10:37 am
    Just programmed by Hollywood movies! When I was 15 I had my own car.At 16 my drivers license.Big difference between the crap Hollywood purports and real life.I am saying look at the parents (baby boomers)you will find the "UN-REALITY".
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  • mnpat wrote...
    I, like others must be in the 6% as well
    January 14, 2013 11:18 am
    We live in a free society and the only thing that keeps people from do harm to others is the consequences. To take a life is a no brainer, life without parole.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AceBass wrote...
    Not a snowballs chance.....
    January 14, 2013 11:27 am
    It is merciful that he has been allowed to breath all these years. Now a convicted double murderer wants parole? No. Not only No, but HECK no.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    i agree with the (gotta be WAY more than) 6% of the people who say he should stay behind bars...
    January 14, 2013 11:38 am
    ""I would want them to think about some of the things they did when they were fifteen," he said. "Have they matured? Have they grown? Have they gotten beyond those things and would they ever go back and do those things? Probably not.""

    totally.

    BUT, like others have said, my 15 year old self wouldn't have KILLED someone. my 13 year old self wouldn't have KILLED someone. heck, my 10 year old self probably played cops and robbers and played with fake guns and such and STILL wouldn't have KILLED someone, even by accident!

    this kid flat our murdered two people. it was thought out. he had a plan to take their stuff, but kill them as well. why should we make allowances for them? what about the vitim's families? they'd know that a man was walking around who killed their...husband? brother? son? it just doesn't seem right.

    one of tuba man's killers is up for killing his SECOND person. the first one (tuba man) doesn't count in his sentencing, though, from what i've heard. why is that? this individual killed, not once but twice! why is he still allowed the hope of getting back to regular life when the families of his vitims will suffer for the rest of theirs?

    sorry, 6% is no right. MANY people feel this way. maybe a lot of people are against the death penalty, and that's fine. it is a little harsh. but, to be cool with letting killers back out who made a decision at an age when THEY KNEW BETTER is just plain stupid. real punishments are the only way to send a message to the next wave of idiots out there who might try to pull the same thing. if they have any notion that they won't be in jail, or on death row, they'll just keep going and let the chips fall where they may.

    i saw we make it so the house always wins and ALWAYS collects.

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  • wsshirling wrote...
    Life without parole...
    January 14, 2013 11:40 am
    And?? Maybe if Seattle has put the tuba man killer (billy whatever his last name is) and his buddy in prison for life, there would be a guy alive today who was killed at that restaurant a few weeks ago.
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  • froggy wrote...
    The Supreme Court is the problem.
    January 14, 2013 12:42 pm
    The people picked for the Court are all so out of touch with "normal" people, they cannot truly give decisions that reflect our society. They are too concerned with the "rights" of the accused instead of the violations perpetrated on the victims. Unfortunately, it is our own faults for this as it is the President that appoints them and we elect the President. Bad President, bad appointments. And don't think it is a national problem. The local Supreme Court is the same. They don't live lives like us.
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  • Informed wrote...
    To: Guy Gilbert
    January 14, 2013 1:44 pm
    You talk about your son as if he did nothing wrong. "I missed that I didn't have him as a son letting me do fatherly things like teach him how to drive, his first dates, growing into a family," WOW do you think about the two dead men and their families? Your statement and this article tell alot about your poor parenting. Let your little devil deemon spawn of a son out, and send him my way. I'll teach him what real pain is the way you didn't.
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  • xplanes wrote...
    Guy Gilbert, you are pathetic
    January 14, 2013 2:10 pm
    How self absorbed can you be. There are other families suffering far more than you. The fact that you are so concerned about how this affected you tells a lot about how your son grew up to care more about his desire for the possessions of his victims than he did for his victims themselves. We seriously need to get back to public executions in front of the courthouse. Televised live like the ultimate reality show it is. Instead of seeing the smiling faces of killers on the news we should see them making a down payment for what they did at the end of a rope. hopefully still twitching after the commercial break. There will be no doubt that 15 year olds understand what murder is when they see what happens when you get caught.
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  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    "...went on a "dope and drinking run,"
    January 14, 2013 2:28 pm
    No one has commmented on the irony of this and the current left(ist) approval of dope smoking. Not surprising. But Pandora's box has been opened. What a state...
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