Palm Beach County Citizens OUTRAGED after overly harsh sentencing of a local teenager!
PLEASE HELP US FIX THIS INJUSTICE!!!
* Stephan Hamil was forced to plea before his 21st Birthday coming this Saturday!
* Stephan was counseled that he would be charged as a youthful offender(6yr max sentence) and instead he got 20+ years.
* Stephan has hundreds of hours of community service logged in Palm Beach County.
* Stephan was a member of the prestigious Boca Raton NJROTC
* NEVER RECEIVED A TRIAL BY A JURY OF HIS PEERS
Please read the attached document which provides more details of the case. This Story is gaining momentum throughout the community and everyone is outraged by the events that have occurred.
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I am writing you to inform you of an injustice being performed by the state attorney and the state of Florida as a whole in this matter.
Here is a video on youtube that should refresh your memory:
http://www.youtube.com/
I would first like to give you a little bit of background information on Stephan M Hamil Jr who is being ACCUSED of street racing in this case. Stephan Hamil is a good kid by any account. He grew up his later teenage years in Boca Raton where he attended Boca Raton Community High School. While he attended this high school he was a member of the prestigious Boca Raton NJROTC where he not only competed around the nation carrying the city's name with honor, but he also preformed hundreds of hours of community service. Stephan graduated Boca Raton High School to move onto college at the World Renowned Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. This being said though, Stephan was not your average college student. Stephan was on a full scholarship from the United States Marine Corps where he was furthering his childhood dream to become a Marine Corps Aviator.
All of this came crashing down in late December 2008. This evening he was driving down Spanish River Boulevard when a car pulled out into the middle of the intersection and there was a collision. Even though by all accounts Stephan had the right of way, he’s is now being charged with the deaths of the two occupants in the other vehicle. Though Stephan has said that he would do anything to go back and change the outcome everyone knows that this not only would have been impossible then it is definitely impossible now.
So here is where we are today. Stephan Hamil has absolutely no money to his name. As a result of the pending charges Stephan lost his job as a lifeguard at the Wyndham Beach Resort in Daytona Beach where he currently resides. He was on pace to receive his third promotion in less than a year. He also lost his Marine Corps Scholarship which was his only means to pay for his schooling at The Embry Riddle Daytona Campus. Stephan's driver’s license was also suspended even though in all state statutes it states that one must be CONVICTED before this occurs. Knowing that Stephan has no money or means to properly fight, the State of Florida is taking full advantage of this situation. This is in complete contrast to Caleb Lee, the other individual being charged with the exact same things. Due to his obviously brighter financial picture, Caleb not only obtained a private attorney but his license was almost immediately reinstated due to this superior representation. To this point Caleb has pled out to lesser charges, and like any scared teenager, appears to be doing anything the state wishes in an attempt to clear his own name.
On Monday 3/1/2010, under false pretenses from his public defender, Stephan plead a plea of best interest. Under his public defender’s counsel she said the max he could get would be 6 years as a youthful offender. What actually happened is that the judge decided not to sentence him as a youthful offender and gave him 20+ years in jail. Stephan was forced to make this plea before his 21st birthday which is on 3/6/2010 to be charged as a youthful offender. This young man with such a bright future has been has been taken advantage of by the system and deserves his day in court, with a jury of his peers as we would all expect to have sitting in his position. Although I am no one special... I am an American Citizen, and I have an undying love for my country. When I look at these facts and realize that someone who loves his country as much as I do, and was on track to spend his life serving his country I am disheartened. If Stephan had the resources to obtain private counsel it would be a different picture. Like the other defendant facing the same charges, he not only would have his license back, but would have had a resolution to his case by now.
We are attempting to obtain private counsel for Stephan Hamil. Even though he personally does not have the means to pay for this, he should not be denied a fair trial or fair representation. As a proud American I was brought up to believe that everyone was created equal and due to our "fair" justice system, no matter what background someone comes from they will be treated fair under the eyes of the law. It is obvious that this is not what is occurring here and I ask only that you shed light on this abuse of the justice system being set upon those of us who may come from lesser means. I hope and pray that in this process you portray Stephan as the kind-hearted patriotic human being that he is and not as the villain that the media so often has portrayed him to be.
I come to you as someone who has known Stephan for many years and knows him very well. Though I have no problem being contacted further, I ask that you respect my wishes to remain anonymous in this regard.
Thank you,
Anonymous
