Trout A true story of murder, teens, and the death penalty

The practice of trying juveniles as adults and forcing them to serve the same terms as adults, often referred to as act negates age an approach that has been adopted by a number of states since 1978 takes center stage here. Kunerth, a journalist with the Orlando Sentinel, dissects a murder-for-hire plot at Trout Auto Parts in Pensacola, Florida, in 1991, that ended with the wrong victim dead and with three teens on death row (two of whom just sat in the getaway car while the third committed the murder). At one level, this is superb beat reporting; Kunerth brings the two worlds of genteel Pensacola and nearby, busted-out Brownsville to vivid life. At another level, the book offers a vivid, In Cold Blood-like examination of a crime gone wrong and its aftermath. On the deepest level, though, Kunerth writes meditatively about what it means to be a young person with very few opportunities and a lifetime to regret what happened in just a few minutes. This is both a gripping true-crime story and a powerful argument for overturning the wrong of juvenile sentencing.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2010 Booklist

Orlando Sentinel reporter Kunerth's pedestrian account of the brutal murder of a Florida auto parts clerk at the hands of three teenage boys in Florida does little to illuminate the debate on youths and the death penalty. On January 26, 1991, in Pensacola, Fla., Patrick Bonifay, 17, Eddie Fordham, 18, and Cliff Barth, 17, drove to Trout Auto Parts, allegedly to kill the manager for firing Patrick's step-cousin, Robin Lee Archer, and to clean out the store's safe. But Patrick shot the wrong man, a clerk in the store. A deeply troubled kid with a family history of abuse, Patrick hoped the money from the robbery/murder would allow him to start a new life elsewhere. Instead, after Patrick confessed to a friend, he and the other boys, as well as Archer, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Kunerth attempts to make the various trials suspenseful but guilty verdicts were a foregone conclusion, leaving sentencing as the only question mark. Florida has no minimum age for the death penalty, and Patrick and Robin were sentenced to die, while Eddie and Cliff received life sentences. Examining other cases of youth crime and the idea of "adult time for adult crimes," Kunerth barely scratches the surfaces of a fascinating and volatile topic. Photos. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.