A 20-year-old from Erie, Pa., who killed a 7-year-old boy in a gang-related shooting nearly got his wish that a judge sentence him to life without parole. Abdullah Ismael, who was 17 when he killed Antonio Yarger Jr. in 2022, was ordered to serve 60 years to life in state prison for first-degree murder, reports USA Today.
Ismael, who was tried as an adult, had demanded that Judge John Mead sentence him to life without parole to prove how sorry Ismael said he was for the murder and the anguish that it caused Antonio's family. "It was never in my heart to kill anybody, especially Antonio, especially a kid," Ismael told Mead.
Mead stopped short of granting the request. He explained that Pennsylvania appellate courts discourage sentences of life without parole for murder defendants for killings that occurred when they were juveniles.
Mead said a sentence of 60 years to life — in which Ismael will not be eligible for parole until he is around 80 — was appropriate for a murder that shocked Erie and amplified calls to curb youth and gang-related violence that spiked during the pandemic. "This case is a tragedy. It affected so many people here today," Mead said to the courtroom gallery crowded with friends and relatives of Antonio and Ismael. The number of homicides committed by youths in the U.S. has risen dramatically, jumping 65% − from 315 in 2016 to 521 in 2022. Gun-related crimes by juveniles increased 20%, prompting concern among experts and calls for more prevention efforts.
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