"My son was 15 years old when three young men kicked-in a door and broke into the basement where my son and his friends were staying. There was chaos in a matter of minutes. One of the intruders was stabbed and he died. "When the detectives arrested my son, they said that if three men really did kick-in the door, this was a bogus charge. But, when we went to the preliminary hearing everything changed. No one could understand why the DA went after my son the way he did, but we soon found out. The man who died had been a detective's son. Everything changed. "my son never had a chance after that. The so-called trial was a disgrace, just like the judge. The defense attorney told my son to have a judge trial [bench trial without a jury]. The lawyer didn't subpoena any of the boys who had put in statements saying that the deceased kept reaching into his pants pocket to reach for a weapon. "The coroner played down the deceased's height (6 foot) and weight (over 200 pounds). My son was 5 feet 4 inches and weighed 137 pounds. "The father of the deceased was in the back of the courtroom with the judge and the DA before the so-called trial. The testimony of the other two intruders confirmed that, yes, they had been drinking all night and were drunk. And yes, they did kick-in the door and go in. "The judge found my son guilty of third degree murder and gave [the 15 year-old] 10 to 20 years for self-defense. It was only to appease the detective and his family. "My son has now been in prison in Pennsylvania for over 3 years. He's now 18 1/2. He's had many problems with guards who have set him up for different things. He's gotten many writ-ups because of these Cos [corrections officers," guards]. "Being so young, he sometimes does things not thinking before he acts. He's been in the RHU ("Restrictive Housing Unit," the prison hole) for six months straight already and now he has another year to go in the RHU. It's mostly because of his problems with the Cos. I can't believe that it is legal for them to keep boys of his age in the RUH [for so long] with no rehabilitation whatsoever. [Neither can we!]