When Curtis Brooks received a life sentence without parole at the age of 15 for felony murder, he was convinced he would die in prison.
Even though he did not fire the shot which killed 24-year-old Christopher Ramos in April 1995, he was given the mandatory term — following a trial in which jurors were not given the full picture of his abusive childhood or told he didn’t have a criminal record.
Now, because of a US Supreme Court ruling that it is unconstitutional to hand out such lengthy sentences to juveniles convicted of murder, 39-year-old Brooks will be released on July 1 after being granted clemency by the Colorado governor last December.
“I am ready to get started on my new beginning,” says Brooks, the subject of Tuesday’s episode of the A&E docuseries “Kids Behind Bars: Life Or Parole” (10 p.m.).
Brooks, who will have served 24 years by the time he is freed, says he is fully remorseful for his crime. He plans to live a “good” life in honor of Ramos, the victim of the carjacking and robbery outside an Aurora, Colorado, bank.
“I feel horrible for the Ramos family from the standpoint it was an absolutely pointless crime,” says Brooks. “I know, even though I can shout ‘sorry’ from the top of my lungs, [an apology] won’t ever take the pain away from them.”
‘I am ready to get started on my new beginning.’
It was a snowy night in early spring when Brooks and three other teens he’d met at a mall held up Ramos at gunpoint after he’d stopped at an ATM to get cash.
The innocent college student was shot dead by Deon Harris, 15, one of Brooks’ accomplices, during a fracas in which Brooks fired a bullet into the air. Police easily tracked the culprits by following their footprints in the snow.
After that, as Brooks’ attorney, Hollynd Hoskins, points out in the documentary: “Things moved really quickly.”
He was given an automatic life sentence without parole for felony murder, despite the fact that he’d grown up in an abusive household with a crack-addicted mother and was homeless at the time of the killing.
Juror Bruce Grode explains how the jury was never told of this. The panel was also unaware that, unlike the other teens, Brooks did not have a criminal record and hadn’t joined in their crime spree earlier that day.
“It was after the verdict that everything changed for me,” says Grode. “If we [had] known all the evidence, I don’t think we could ever have found him guilty of capital murder.”
The juror has since been one of the leading campaigners behind Brooks’ successful bid for leniency.
Richard and Joyce Ramos, parents of murder victim Christopher RamosA&E
Still, others are horrified by the news that Brooks received clemency and is being released in two months’ time.
Speaking on behalf of Ramos’ family, Kenneth Vescio, a high school friend of the victim, says that justice has not been served.
“I’m very biblical and believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” he told The Post. “Chris had his whole life ahead of him and it was taken away from him and his family.
“Even if he didn’t pull the trigger, Curtis Brooks was guilty of premeditated murder.”
Meanwhile Brooks, who has an exemplary prison record and has learned to speak several languages, is looking forward to his freedom. He is due to start a new job working for his former elementary school teacher who is now a Maryland state senator.
“The time I spent in prison hasn’t gone to waste,” he says.
