Caged Kids
48 Hours
This classic '48 Hours' episode examines the lives of four children who were tried as adults for serious crimes, exploring the long-term consequences of harsh juvenile
Key takeaways
- Juvenile offenders tried as adults often face lifelong incarceration despite potential for rehabilitation.
Main topics
- Juvenile justice reform
- Life sentences for minors
Notable quotes
"I believe in redemption. I believe that there needs to be a second chance." – Missy Phillips, mother of Josh Phillips
"What happens if an eight-year-old shoots somebody? Do you put them in prison for the rest of their life?" – Florida State Senator Stephen Geller
Conclusion
The episode underscores the moral and legal complexities surrounding juvenile sentencing, advocating for a system
Transcript preview
Speaker 5 (0:08) You made a choice, and that choice was to be thugs. They were children, all sentenced to hard time. Lisa, a promising athlete. Speaker 8 (0:18) Give me all your money right now. Right now. Speaker 5 (0:20) She's the girl behind the mask. Speaker 8 (0:22) No, it wasn't scary. Speaker 5 (0:24) She's serving seven years. Speaker 8 (0:26) It was just sad. Speaker 5 (0:29) Sean was 16 when he killed his friend's father. She was being abused. Speaker 3 (0:34) I was a kid with braces on his teeth that thought he was helping a friend in trouble. Speaker 5 (0:38) He got 8 to 24. I Speaker 3 (0:41) was introduced to a world I had no idea existed. Speaker 5 (0:44) Also... Speaker 7 (0:44) We're talking about a 17-year-old girl. Speaker 5 (0:47) Will Rebecca go free? You've Speaker 2 (0:49) been here for how many years? Eight years. Speaker 2 (0:53) So as far as you're concerned, the state then will be setting free a cold-blooded murderer. Speaker 5 (0:59) Kids, tried and convicted as adults. Should we throw away the key? What happens if an eight-year-old shoots somebody? You put them in prison for the rest of their life? 48 Hours investigates. Caged kids. I'd Speaker 2 (1:24) like to leave around between 7 and 7.30 to get there when visiting hours began around 9. Speaker 1 (1:31) Missy Phillips is on her way to visit her son Josh. in the Marion Correctional Facility in Lowell, Florida. Speaker 5 (1:38) I mean, I love my son. I just, I want to support him and I miss him. Speaker 1 (1:43) It's a trip Missy has taken once a week, every week, for the last five years. Speaker 5 (1:54) And then he's always sad when I leave him there. It's hard because it's going to be another week. Speaker 8 (2:01) I love my mom. She's a... She rose strong. Speaker 1 (2:05) 20-year-old Josh Phillips has spent a quarter of his life behind bars. Speaker 8 (2:10) I'm glad that she's there with me now. Speaker 1 (2:12) And will remain in prison until the day he dies. When you look into his eyes, when you see his face today, what do you see? Speaker 5 (2:20) I see my son. I see the little boy that I saw grow up. Speaker 8 (2:30) Josh is a monster in my mind because normal people don't kill their playmates. Speaker 1 (2:38) Steve and Sheila Clifton's daughter Maddie was just eight years old when she vanished from her Jacksonville, Florida neighborhood in November 1998. Speaker 5 (2:49) Maddie, please come home. Mom and Daddy and Jesse are ready for you to come on home. Speaker 2 (2:55) I'm going in the woods if anybody wants to go with me. Speaker 1 (2:57) 48 hours was there as thousands of people searched for Maddie. Speaker 7 (3:02) Maddie is going to come home. She will come home. Speaker 8 (3:11) There was no night and day. It was just this nightmare. Speaker 1 (3:14) It Speaker 8 (3:15) was horrible. Speaker 1 (3:16) It took seven days for Steve and Sheila Clifton to learn what happened to their daughter. We found Maddie Clifton this morning. She was dead. Speaker 5 (3:27) Oh my God. Speaker 1 (3:30) Maddie Clifton had been right across the street the whole time. Her body stuffed under 14-year-old Josh Phillips' waterbed. Speaker 8 (3:41) Just a brutal... Senseless murder. Speaker 1 (3:45) Josh told police that while playing, he accidentally hit Maddie with a baseball. Speaker 5 (3:50) He Speaker 1 (3:52) told Speaker 5 (3:52) the police that he carried her in the house and took her to his room and put her on the floor. Speaker 1 (3:57) This is Josh's dad, Steve Phillips, in 1998. And that she Speaker 5 (4:02) started to make noises, and he got scared even more. Speaker 1 (4:07) Scared because Josh was afraid of getting in trouble. Speaker 1 (4:12) In a panic, Josh hit Maddie with a baseball bat and stabbed her to stop her screaming. The case of the state of Florida Speaker 5 (4:25) versus Speaker 1 (4:25) Joshua Earl Patrick Phillips. Josh, who had no history of violence, was charged as an adult with murder. Speaker 5 (4:34) We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree. Speaker 1 (4:37) Mr. Phillips in custody, please. Speaker 1 (4:42) In the early 1990s, most states, including Florida, changed their laws, making it easier to try juveniles as adults, putting the emphasis on punishment rather than rehabilitation. It was in this climate in 1999 that Josh Phillips was sentenced to life without parole. Speaker 8 (5:06) He was convicted justly. Speaker 1 (5:08) 48 Hours interviewed the Cliftons a week after Josh was convicted. Does Josh deserve to spend the rest of his life in prison? Speaker 8 (5:16) I believe so. I don't know what should happen, but I'd Speaker 1 (5:23) like to get out. This was 15-year-old Josh before he was transferred to state prison. Why did this happen? Speaker 8 (5:31) I don't know. I don't think I have the answer. Speaker 1 (5:37) And after five years in prison... I Speaker 8 (5:40) really don't know. Not really. Speaker 1 (5:44) Josh still doesn't have the answer. Were you angry? Were you an angry young man at 14? Speaker 8 (5:50) I had anger in me, I guess. And now maybe I should get some kind of counseling or something, find out what's wrong with me. Speaker 1 (6:01) But since he's been incarcerated, Josh hasn't had any counseling to understand why he killed Maddie. Speaker 8 (6:10) I'm just sitting here, you know. All I'm doing is sitting here eating, doing stuff at work, and that's all I do every day, and it's going to be like that pretty much until I die. Speaker 7 (6:20) Maybe one day he's going to realize the severity of how many people he affected by doing what he did. Speaker 1 (6:28) Sheila Clifton's life has been dramatically changed since her daughter Maddie was murdered. Speaker 1 (6:37) After 25 years of marriage, Sheila and Steve Clifton are now divorced. Speaker 7 (6:43) My husband, he was so struck with the grief. We just went in totally different directions. Watching her grow up, the dreams and the hopes that we had are gone. And that's a hard thing for a mom to accept. Speaker 1 (7:00) What do you think about when you think of Maddie? Speaker 8 (7:02) I think about this little girl that didn't deserve to die. Speaker 8 (7:11) I try to think what the hell is going through my head, you know? I screwed up my life, I screwed up hers. She's not going to have a chance to win anything. It's all because of me. Speaker 5 (7:20) I believe in redemption. I believe that there needs to be a second chance. Speaker 1 (7:25) Florida State Senator Stephen Geller may hold the key to Josh Phillips' future. We Speaker 5 (7:30) have to start recognizing that children are not just short adults. What happens if an eight-year-old shoots somebody? Do you put them in prison for the rest of their life? Under current Florida law, you can. I'm sorry, I think that's wrong. If we pass today's bill, we'll be able to do something about that. Speaker 1 (7:47) He has introduced a bill that would make first-time violent juvenile offenders serving life sentences eligible for parole after eight years. Speaker 5 (7:57) Charles Manson gets the opportunity to have parole. Why should this 14-year-old at the time of the act, why should they not have the opportunity for parole? Speaker 1 (8:07) For now, though, prison, not parole, is Josh's reality. Speaker 8 (8:13) Lately, the life sentence has just hit me kind of. Every day you see a big line in the medical every day for pills and stuff. You see a bunch of guys with walkers and stuff, and it's, it looks like, that might be me another 50 years. Speaker 1 (8:25) Since Josh has been away, his father Steve died in a car accident. Speaker 5 (8:30) Josh loved his dad, and Steve loved Josh, so I had to stay strong for Josh. Speaker 8 (8:35) I got mom now, but, you know. She's all got left. But Speaker 1 (8:39) with all that has happened, Josh has done well in prison. Despite living in the general adult population since he was 15, he says he was never sexually assaulted. Speaker 8 (8:50) No, I've never really had any physical problems in prison. Speaker 1 (8:53) Josh has gone on to receive his high school diploma and now works as a law clerk advising fellow inmates. Speaker 5 (9:00) He wants to do well. He wants to make something of himself. What Speaker 1 (9:05) do you believe should happen to Josh? Speaker 2 (9:07) I believe he should have a chance to get out someday. Speaker 1 (9:10) And surprisingly, today... Speaker 2 (9:12) I don't hate him. Speaker 7 (9:14) I Speaker 2 (9:14) hate Speaker 7 (9:15) what he did. Speaker 1 (9:16) Even Maddie's mother has had a change of heart. Do you think that Josh should ever get a second chance at life? Speaker 7 (9:25) Maybe one day. Being put away in prison for life, I can't imagine. I don't think any child should have to suffer that. Speaker 5 (9:35) I don't think it's appropriate to lock them up and throw away the key. And Speaker 1 (9:39) Senator Geller may have an unexpected ally. Just Speaker 4 (9:42) last Speaker 1 (9:42) week, Florida's conservative governor, Jeb Bush, said he is seriously considering supporting Geller's bill. Speaker 1 (9:52) But if the bill passes, it may