Teens to be banished

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Two Native teenagers who beat a pizza delivery driver with a baseball bat and robbed him of $40, will be punished by banishment to two remote islands off the southeast Alaskan coast.

Superior Court Judge James Allendoerfer deferred the sentencing of the youth so that tribal leaders from the Thlawaa Tlingit Nation and the Kuye' Di Kuiu Kwaan Tribal Court of Alaska could impose their own system of justice.

The two 17-year-olds will be given hand tools and food for two weeks and isolated on the island for up to one year. They will still be required to make restitution to the victim.

In 18 months the offenders will be back before Allendoerfer and will have to demonstrate whether they have been rehabilitated and made restitution in order to avoid a further prison term. They could face up to three to five years in prison.

On Aug. 21 the tribal council will post a $25,000 bond and take responsibility for the youth. The boys will be monitored while in banishment to ensure nothing happens to them.