Mother of slain Grant High student JJ Clavo speaks on killer's release from prison
SACRAMENTO — A man who was a teenager when he killed Grant High School student JJ Clavo in 2015 is being released from prison.
JJ Clavo will always live on in those around him and on his former high school football team.
"We speak of him frequently," said Nicole Clavo, JJ's mother. "He comes up in conversation as if he was here yesterday."
Clavo added, "If we go back to his high school, the kids fight for his number 5 in football every year."
The high school football player was 17 at the time he was killed in an ambush-style shooting just blocks from his school. His killer, Keymontae Lindsey, was sentenced in September 2019 and is now being released from prison.
"It wasn't on the slim chance," Clavo said. "We were all blindsided by yesterday's news."
Senate Bill 1391, which set a precedent on children not being charged as adults, was signed into law in 2018.
Because Lindsey committed the crime when he was 15, he could not be charged as an adult.
"He was just set up to where he didn't have that guidance," Clavo said. "He didn't have that network that was saying do right. But it depends on that person and what goals they've set for themselves."
JJ's mother believes that Lindsey's second chance comes down to him.
"If he's not seeking out the help or resources or taking advantage of what's being offered to him or taking advantage of programs he can do or job opportunities, we can't make him," Clavo said.
As her son's memory persists from their home, Mom remains forgiving.
"Forgiving him was an immediate part of my process, so I wasn't walking around with hatred and anger," Clavo said.
Had Lindsey been tried as an adult in the court system, he could have faced life in prison for the murder.