Jennifer Pruitt could learn today if she has paid enough for her crime.

The 41-year-old Pontiac native has served 24 years in prison for her role in a 1992 robbery gone bad that led to the murder of a 75-year-old grandfather. Pruitt didn't plunge the knife into Elmer Heichel, but she did target him for an easy rip-off and didn't stop a friend who stabbed him 27 times.


http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/02/08/second-chance-michigans-juvenile-lifers-tough-call-judges/97097890/


I believe she was 16 when the crime occurred. I consider the development still left in someone so young and the level of accountability/consequence fitting the crime. I believe 25 years is plenty, especially in the case that she did no actual killing.

I hope she is granted a second chance.

I've pondered this kind of thing many a time, and I have concluded that there really IS no way to calculate what should or should not be the punishment for such a crime.

Most of the proposals I've heard, hinge on satisfying the sensibilities of one or another observer or victim or relative. A few try to make sense of the notion that the overall society itself, has a unified conscience that needs to be represented somehow.

No answers are clearly correct and complete.

She will never really be granted a second chance.

She will always have that on her record.

Plus she's been socialized more by prison than "normal" life.
She's lived longer in prison than out of it.

Trying to live a "normal" life is probably going to be just as or more traumatic and stressful than when she first went to juvenille/jail/prison, in the long run.


I hope people eventually realize prisons create more problems than they solve.

F' her. Her actions let to a horrible murder with severe overkill as she watched. At 16 your developed enough to know right from wrong and know there is consequences for your actions. That is why they try 16 year olds as adults.

she knew it was wrong to steal, which was her intent,, it was not to kill.

I think they try 16 year olds as adults mostly for vengeance and to use someone as an 'example' and usually when the teen has some history of brutality,, which she did not

a thief, with the misfortune of traveling with a killer

Did you read about the case? It was horrific. Not only did she watch as he begged her to help him because they were friends as he was being murdered but didn't try to stop it and then went in and ransacked the house AND then came back an hour or two later to wipe for prints.

I love how you try and minimalize it. A thief, lol. These two came up with a cold, calculated plan to ROB a man when he was intoxicated and vulnerable. She also knew her friend had a weapon. An armed robber would be the correct term.

They try 16 year olds who commit horrific crimes as adults because they are truly a risk to society.

that is horrific

it still does not change the difference between a thief and a killer,,


she was the former and he was the latter


a 16 year old girl could understandably fear a teen boy on a rampage with a knife,,,,,or freeze,, still wouldn't change that her role was stealing and not killing

I do not believe this person was used as a example, I believe she was sentenced for the laws of that time.

That being said, it was a horrific crime and a man was killed. She was not the killer but certainly was involved and she did go back the crime scene to try to hide the fact. She deserved to do time for that, for her involvement in this crime. I do believe the sentence was too harsh as She was 16 and she did call the police to report the crime. I think based on her age at the time, she should have been tried as a minor and received a much lower sentence. But the stiffest sentence based on a status of a minor.

Some laws certainly need changing. We have people sitting in prisons for being caught with Pot and now they are doing 10-15 years for that. I don't smoke pot, but I think it less dangerous the alcohol, but the penalty was much stiffer a few years ago when these people were sentenced.

So we have people sitting in prison for something that is now considered legal in areas and certainly more accepted in general.

That does not seem right to me.

To bad her partner wasn't a boy......

does that matter?

I have seen a girl attack a boy and stood in shock, when I was a teen


the reaction didn't make me a batterer , or the same as the actual attacker

I MIGHT buy that if she had gone to her parents or cops instead of going back an hour or 2 to wipe down finger prints

I think we found something we agree on

It is a full moon.. isn't it.. Lol

My kid is 26 now but even at 16 (or younger) he knew right from wrong. My niece (she was my kid) knew right from wrong. End of story. They would never go back later (knowing they were the ones targeting that person that ended up being murdered) go without looking for help.

I don't know what my kids would do IF they were in the situation

Id only like to 'believe' they would be too honest to do anything that might keep them from being caught or tied to such a thing,,,,

but even if they did try not to get caught for their part, it isn't the same to me as them having had the actual malice to take a life themselves,,,

Bottom line

She committed a crime and a death occurred

If she was not in loved in this crime she wouldn't be there

That death makes her guilty of felony murder

Since being in prison chances are she has been Influenced by many other criminals (she already shown she could be influenced to do wrong)

The person murdered is still dead is he not

It shouldn't matter how old a murderer is the murdered person is still dead no matter the age of the murderer

The family still has the tragic loss of a family member

Many things are unjust in the justice dept her being in prison is not 1 of them

Some of the unjust things are murderers getting out to soon as conviction is overturned the murderer should be punished till the murdered comes back to life

she served 25 years already

the deceased is not dead by her hands, and will remain dead whether she is in or out of prison, so that isn't really relevant


I disagree that age doesn't matter, it matters a lot when it comes to the development of wisdom and experience still left ahead by which they can become upstanding citizens making upstanding contributions,,,

The man is dead she knew better if she would have reported the murder then she would be out

Would you feel this way of the victim was your grandparent (thankfully it wasn't & hopefully you never suffer such a loss)

To stop crime the punishments must be major enough To stop 1 from committing the crime to begin with
And
Fair enough to the victim

The victim has lost their life @ least she has her life

He is dead and will forever be dead she did not have to commit the crime

She could have called authorities rather than going back and try and cover up the crime

Yes

I would feel the same regardless of who the victim was

the victim will be dead if she is in jail or out

the victim would still be dead whether she went to police or not

none of that is relevant to the fact that she was a minor still developing and with a life ahead of her and never chose to take someones life, but chose to steal

she was not an adult, and took noones life herself

so I feel 25 years is more of an attempted lesson to others than it is justice, and that it should be more than enough

Point is he may have been alive the next day if she didn't agree to commit the crime

If she went to rities b4 crime could have stopped crime caught thief and saved his life

If went after it would shown remorse

Her try n 2 cover up crime shows her callousness and the thought process of a more mature criminal