The Crucifixion Murder
On April 14, 1971, 20-month old Noah Alba was murdered. Noah was found when one of the killers led police to the body a few days after his death. Noah had injuries all over his tiny frame – medical examiners said he died from ruptured liver and internal bleeding. The toddler’s death itself was horrific, but the horror grew when police discovered Noah’s little body was tied to a cross. The case became known as “The Crucifixion Murder.”
The murderer, Billy, confessed shortly after he led law enforcement to Noah’s body. He said he and his brother found Noah at the playground and walked him around trying to find Noah’s mother. When they couldn’t find a parent, they took Noah to a place they liked to hang out – a dingy “fort” with a mattress, a bicycle, and broken glass on the floor. Little Noah began to cry in the surroundings. Billy and his brother began hitting Noah to get him to be quiet, and they killed him.
Billy, the first confessed murderer, was 7 years old. His brother, Bobby, who helped him kill Noah, was 10. After Noah died, they tied his body to a cross made from 2 pieces of wood in the fort. They knew about the Resurrection, and they thought tying him to a cross might be a way to get Noah to come back to life.
There’s more mitigating factors than the killers being children. Billy had received a head injury 2 years earlier that required a plastic plate to be attached to his skull. Bobby witnessed the accident that caused Billy’s injury, and he watched as Billy floated between life and death until he finally recovered.
Mitigation is simply the truth about the life of someone charged with a crime. Mitigation grays a black and white view of lawbreaking. Should we charge children with murder? Can a child understand the consequences of his or her actions? What sort of punishment is appropriate for children? What about punishment for teenagers? What about punishment for adults with low intelligence? For adults with high intelligence and great promise? How should mental illness and addiction influence sentencing? Should a person with every material and educational opportunity be judged the same as a person raised in a broken home with no bed to sleep on and no encouragement to do well in life?
These sorts of difficult questions are exactly what good judges struggle with in sentencing, and they are questions we should struggle with as a society. There are no easy answers to crime. In the case of the Crucifixion Murder, Billy and Bobby were placed in a special home for 2 years where they received intensive counseling and then they were returned to their mother. In the decades following Noah’s death, Bobby, the oldest child, has gone on to a responsible, productive life free of arrests. His brother Billy has fought with addiction and been arrested for child abuse, including victimizing his 3-month-old son.
Our justice system is not a place for easy questions and pat answers. Justice calls for us to see victims and the perpetrators for who they really are. No system is perfect. Sometimes the sentence will be too harsh and sometimes it will be too lenient. But the only way we get close to getting it right is to know the lives of those who stand accused.
At Jury & Webb Mitigation, we are proud to bring fairness, completeness, and honesty to the justice system.
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