A Second Chance for Solis-Diaz? Law Would Provide New Avenue for Juvenile Sentencing Reviews

The state Legislature passed a bill last week that marks one of the most significant reforms in juvenile justice in the past two decades. 

The law, which is currently awaiting Gov. Jay Inslee’s signature, could allow for the early release of dozens of prisoners sentenced to life for crimes they committed prior to turning 18.

For Guadalupe Solis-Diaz Jr., a man twice sentenced to 92 years in prison by a Lewis County judge for a drive-by shooting that occurred in Centralia when he was 16, the law may be the difference between spending the rest of his life in prison or being released by age 40.

Solis-Diaz appeared in Lewis County Superior Court earlier this month and unsuccessfully pleaded for a lower prison sentence that would have once again allowed him to someday live outside of prison walls.

On Aug. 11, 2007, Solis-Diaz sprayed bullets into a crowd of people standing outside a bar on Tower Avenue in downtown Centralia. The bullets didn’t hit anyone, including his intended target, but prosecutors charged Solis-Diaz with a slew of first-degree assault charges, each count carrying a firearm and gang-related enhancement that added years onto his sentence.

The 24-year-old told Judge Nelson Hunt earlier this month that at the time of the shooting, he was a lost and immature teenager who was addicted to drugs and heavily influenced by his gang. Since his incarceration, he has earned his GED as well as the Offender’s Second Chance certificate.

“Let me show you I can be rehabilitated,” he begged Hunt. “Help me take that step toward a positive future.”

The courtroom was nearly full with supporters of Solis-Diaz, many of them wearing white T-shirts with his name, photo and the phrase “Needs a second chance in life” printed on them.

Despite his plea for a sentence that would allow him to prove that he could be rehabilitated, Hunt issued the same nearly century-long prison sentence as he did in 2007.

The current legislation, which the governor is expected to sign, could be a second chance for Solis-Diaz, as well as dozens of other men who were sentenced to life in prison for crimes they committed before turning 18.

The bill, which passed last week at the end of the 60-day Legislative session with wide bipartisan support, came as a result of a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled sentencing juveniles to life in prison violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The decision forced Washington, along with about 28 other states, to pass new laws regarding prison sentences for juvenile offenders who commit serious violent felonies, according to The Seattle Times.

The governor's policy staff is currently in the process of reviewing the bill, so it has not yet been scheduled for the governor to sign it, said Lisa Harper, a communications associate for the governor's office. The earliest the signing could happen would be next week, she said.

At the time of Solis-Diaz’s resentencing hearing on March 3, the Legislature was on the brink of passing this legislation, which Lewis County prosecutors knew in all likelihood would reduce the former Centralia High School student’s time in prison to a fraction of his actual sentence.

But prosecutors still requested the high end of the standard range of 77 to 92.5 years

during the March resentencing hearing, which came as a result of an appeals court ruling in 2012 that Solis-Diaz’s trial attorney was constitutionally deficient during his sentencing. 

The deputy prosecutor and judge Hunt said nothing had changed since 2007 that warranted a lower sentence.

Solis-Diaz and his attorney, however, were adamant something had changed since 2007 — the defendant. He was no longer an impulsive teenager — he was an adult taking responsibility for his near-deadly actions, they said.

In addition, the U.S. legal system’s perspective on the culpability of juvenile offenders had also changed, Robert Quillian, Solis-Diaz defense attorney, told the judge.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said his office worked with the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys legislative committee to help develop the law awaiting the governor’s signature.

Specifically, he said, his office used Solis-Diaz’s case as an example of somebody who would be affected by its passage.

Meyer said even though his office worked on the new law that would aid Solis-Diaz in possibly achieving an early release, he said it did not impact his decision to seek the same near century-long sentence as his predecessor.

“We thought that it was appropriate knowing that this (Legislative) fix was coming,” Meyer said.

Under the terms of the new law, the 28 Washington men sentenced to life without possibility of parole for crimes such as first-degree murder that were committed while they were still legally considered children would have an opportunity to request a new sentence.

The new sentences would range between 25 years in prison to the maximum penalty of life. The judge issuing the new sentence can take into account the individual’s age at the time of the crime, as well as his rehabilitation in prison.

For former juvenile offenders such as Solis-Diaz, who are serving terms so lengthy they are essentially life sentences, the law works differently: They have a good chance of release from prison after 20 years.

Meyer explained that unless a review board believes Solis-Diaz, and other offenders like him, still pose a risk to society, they would be freed after 20 years.

That means that Solis-Diaz, who is about seven years into his sentence, could be free within 13 years if he convinces the board he has been rehabilitated.

When recommending a sentence at Solis-Diaz’s March hearing, Meyer said his office requested the high end of the range in case he does not rehabilitate while in prison for the first 20 years of his sentence.

“We look at worse case scenario,” the prosecutor said. “What happens if he doesn't get better? What happens if he doesn't stop his criminal ways in prison?”

“Do I hope he is better in 20 years? Yes,” Meyer added. “But we need to make sure society is protected.”

Meyer said he has spoken to a number of community members who know Solis-Diaz. They have told him that he is not a bad person, and is capable of rehabilitation.

“But at the same time, he did a horrible act,” Meyer said.