Black Teens Receive 11 Life Sentences in Crime Where No One Was Hurt
Juan Rayford Jr. and Dupree Glass
...While at a house party with some friends, Juan Jr. ducked into the back of the hosts’ home to play video games. While there, he said he heard the commotion between a friend and another individual.Juan Rayford Jr. and Dupree Glass
“The friend and the other guy had a long-standing beef and it spilled over to a fight and Juan and everybody came running,” said Juan Sr., who lived in Virginia at the time of the incident and now lives in Texas. “Shots were fired, and when the police came, they took names and wanted to know who did what.”
“My son did nothing wrong, he had no gun and there were some shots fired but nobody was hit, nobody was hurt,” he said.
After questioning everyone there, prosecutors appeared to hone in on Rayford Jr. and another teen, Dupree Glass.
Although no one was shot or injured and the homeowner and other witnesses initially said the teens weren’t involved or at least did not possess a gun, Rayford Jr. and Glass were charged with 11 counts of attempted murder.
At trial, both Rayford and Glass were forced to depend upon overworked public defenders. They were offered a deal: 15 years in prison.
“I’m not guilty,” Rayford Jr. pled to his father and all who would listen.
His plea, however, fell on deaf ears.
Zealous prosecutors, who successfully requested bail set at $11 million, piled on.
On October 25, 2004, Juan Rayford Jr. was sentenced to 220 years, plus — 11 life terms.
Glass received a similar sentence.
Black Teens Receive 11 Life Sentences in Crime Where No One Was Hurt
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia At 17, Juan Rayford Jr. was like so many other teens with big dreams – he wanted to escape his hardscrabble neighborhood […]
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