In the early morning hours of December 17, 1992, 15-year-old Jacob Ind slaughtered his mother and step-father in their Woodland Park home.

Pamela and Kermode Jordan were shot first in their bed by Ind's friend, 17-year-old Gabriel Adams. When that didn't kill them, Adams stabbed several times as they struggled to get away. Jacob finally finished the job when he grabbed his step-father's .357 revolver.

Attorney General John Suthers remembers the crime scene well; "To this day I consider it one of the more gruesome crime scenes I've ever seen."

John Suthers was the District Attorney when the murder happened. As DA, it was his decision to try the two teens as adults.

"Given the facts of that case the notion of sending Jacob Ind or Gabriel Adams to juvenile court to get out in a few years was not a viable option to me," explained Suthers.

Ind had confessed to the murders, so it could have been an open and shut case. But stories of abuse surfaced during the trial. One woman described what she had seen Pamela Jordan do to her son, "I saw her grab him and say I wish you were never born. I just hate you."

Judge Jane Looney presided over the case.

"The way he had been treated by his parents didn't justify killing them, but it was just awful. I was appalled by the treatment that he had."

11 News contacted Jacob behind bars, and he sent us a letter. In it, he talks about what was going through his head all those years ago.
He writes, "The only reason I felt so trapped that I needed to kill them was because I was too weak to directly confront them. My act was of pure selfishness. It was the cowards way out all so I wouldn't have to go through the pain and struggle of speaking up."

Read the letter written by Jacob Ind to 11 News

"It was one of the saddest cases I ever did," Judge Looney says.

The combination of abuse allegations, and Jacob's age drew sympathy from both Judge Looney and some members of the jury, but there was no question that he killed his parents. Stil, the defense asked the jury to consider self defense.

"The jury didn't buy it and I think properly so," Suthers says.

Jacob Ind was found guilty at 16 years old. And because he was tried as an adult he got life in prison with no possibility of parole.

The case hit Mary Ellen Johnson hard. A Southern Colorado mother herself, she later befriended Jacob behind bars. And has been working with lawmakers to change how Colorado juveniles are sentenced.

There are now more than 45 prison inmates in Colorado serving life, who all committed their crimes before they were 18 years old..

"I don't understand how as a state we could do that to a child," Mary Ellen Johnson says.

That question resonates, even with the former DA who prosecuted the case.

What do you do with kids who kill?

"I would have life mean life, but still have parole eligibility review after 40 years. And if, for a juvenile, you want to change that to 20 or 30 years I don't have a problem with that, but prosecutors deal with the laws as they are at the time you have the case in front of you," Suthers said.

Ind has been in prison now for half his life and has had time to look back on what he did 16 years ago.

He writes, "sorry will never be enough and would be meaningless to those I've hurt, but sorry defines my world and is a permanent part of my heart."

The laws have changed since Ind was sentenced. Now juveniles are given life with a possibility of parole after 40 years.

There is also a bill currently in state legislature. It wouldn't change the sentences for juveniles tried as adults, but it would allow the juvenile courts to question a district attorney on his or her decision to try a child as an adult. Right now, that decision is entirely up to the D.A.

The bill is expected to be read on the senate floor sometime this week for a vote.