10 Year Old Boy Charged As Adult In 90 Year Old Womans Beating Death.

[~Ally~]

10-years old is absolutely old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. We can always return to the old "nature vs nurture" debate in cases such as this but we also need to accept that some people are just born evil, and beyond help. I don't know enough about this boy to suggest that is true but nothing would surprise me.

When Jon Venables and Robert Thompson abducted, tortured, and raped Jamie Bulger they were ten-years old. Unfortunately our system only detained them until they were of adult age...not long enough! Especially considering we know one of them has broken his probation numerous times and has been jailed again relating to paedophilia offences. Murder of James Bulger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anyway, back to the thread, I agree this boy should be charged as an adult. Too many young people think they are untouchable and can commit crimes without charge, or real punishment.

 

[GNTLGNT]

...I have a hunch that the "tried as an adult" gambit is being used to ensure that he can be bound over to the adult system upon "aging out" of a juvenile lock-up at 18 or 21...

 

[arista]

I agree with others...10 years old you do know if murder is wrong. However, with so many murder based video games -perhaps he was desensitized.

 

[Becks19]

Awful just awful. My prayers are with the poor victim and her family. This kid was old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. He just chose to do wrong. Awful!

 

[Kurben]

Personally i don't agree at all with charging a 10 year old as an adult. Totally wrong. If he had been a minor, perhaps 15-16 it might have been different. He should be punished of course. In this case it sounds like a psychological investigation should be made. His answers is qouted as if he lacks empathy. He should be treated, and perhaps punished, but not in a prison. I assume there are psychiatric institutes where he can both be contained and get proper care. And what i find very qoestionable is that his name is given. To give out his name even before judgement has fallen seems wrong to me. What is the next step? To charge Kindergarten kids as adults?

 

[AnnaMarie]

A ten year old knows the difference between right and wrong...I agree. But do they understand the result of their actions in a mature, adult way.

A lot of 15-16 year olds don't. And I have yet to meet a 10 year old that does.

And if he has a psych problem that requires long-term mental health care within a facility, wouldn't that make him less likely to have an adult comprehension of what he did? An adult with serious mental health issues sometimes cannot stand trial, or is found legally not guilty even though they did what they were accused of. (have a case going on in Canada right now where the guy is trying to pull that)

 

[fljoe0]

One reason I don't like charging the 10 year old has nothing to do with this crime or this kid but the precedent it sets. We have juvenile laws for a reason and when we break the rules for a particular case, it opens up the door to break the rules on lesser crimes.

As far as the kid goes, there is most likely a severe mental issue going on. I would much rather see him tried as a juvenile and get intense psychiatric care as opposed to being put in the prison system and released as a 30 year old adult with practically none. Our prisons are horrible psychiatric hospitals.

 

[GNTLGNT]

One reason I don't like charging the 10 year old has nothing to do with this crime or this kid but the precedent it sets. We have juvenile laws for a reason and when we break the rules for a particular case, it opens up the door to break the rules on lesser crimes.

As far as the kid goes, there is most likely a severe mental issue going on. I would much rather see him tried as a juvenile and get intense psychiatric care as opposed to being put in the prison system and released as a 30 year old adult with practically none. Our prisons are horrible psychiatric hospitals.

...if my Institution is any indicator, it's not for lack of shoving meds down their gullets...

 

[AnnaMarie]

One reason I don't like charging the 10 year old has nothing to do with this crime or this kid but the precedent it sets. We have juvenile laws for a reason and when we break the rules for a particular case, it opens up the door to break the rules on lesser crimes.

As far as the kid goes, there is most likely a severe mental issue going on. I would much rather see him tried as a juvenile and get intense psychiatric care as opposed to being put in the prison system and released as a 30 year old adult with practically none. Our prisons are horrible psychiatric hospitals.

There was a recent case with two girls that attempted to kill their friend to meet an imaginary Internet creature....Slenderman? That one was plotted and planned, and I understood the adult charge a bit more. But, even then, I. Felt it was wrong to release the names and pictures prior to conviction as an adult.

 

[RandallFlagg19]

I would like to point out that

An adult could inadvertently (without recognition) kill in a fit of rage the same way this kid did.

The kid was charged with “homicide “not murder, and just because the kid was charged with homicide as an adult does not mean he will be sentenced to life in prison and then execution.

GNTLGNT has a point, he may be held in a juvenile facility until the age of 18 then released to an adult facility. What the kid is charged with has been mentioned, but not how he will be sentenced. He may be sentenced to a medical institution instead of jail.

 

[AnnaMarie]

I'm pretty sure they do not put children into an adult jail. Maybe at 17ish, but not at ten.

And while I agree an adult could do the same thing, there is more expectation of an adult having the self-control to stop.

I don't think anyone here is passing this off as "kids will be kids" bs. We all think, no matter the age, he needs either treatment or incarceration. But treating a 10 year old as an adult and assuming he has the comprehension of an adult seems unreasonable to some of us.

 

[Lepplady]

there's an argument to be made about how physically developed a child's brain is as it relates to being charged as an adult.

The one thing that's certain is that this boy should never see the free light of day again. He will kill again.

Good job on mom for turning him in rather than protecting her baby and enabling him to do it again.

 

[Lepplady]

I just read the article. Grampa might have to be charged too.
Grampa said that the woman was breathing heavily and and bleeding from the mouth, looking scared at 10:30 and became unresponsive at 11:00.
So... why the wait? When somebody's bleeding from the mouth, you CALL AN AMBULANCE. He didn't. So that negligence will almost certainly come into play in the defense. If she might have survived with medical care, is the boy guilty of murder? Or is the old man's negligence in not seeking medical attention really the culprit, your honor?

 

[Moderator]

I just read the article. Grampa might have to be charged too.
Grampa said that the woman was breathing heavily and and bleeding from the mouth, looking scared at 10:30 and became unresponsive at 11:00.
So... why the wait? When somebody's bleeding from the mouth, you CALL AN AMBULANCE. He didn't. So that negligence will almost certainly come into play in the defense. If she might have survived with medical care, is the boy guilty of murder? Or is the old man's negligence in not seeking medical attention really the culprit, your honor?

I'd thought the same thing yesterday but had found another article that went into more detail than the one linked in the original post. According to that article the grandfather had asked the woman if she was okay and she had said she was. When he checked again later she was unresponsive and he then called 911.

 

[Lepplady]

I'd thought the same thing yesterday but had found another article that went into more detail than the one linked in the original post. According to that article the grandfather had asked the woman if she was okay and she had said she was. When he checked again later she was unresponsive and he then called 911.

Ah. That's a different story. But the defense will likely try it anyway, saying that if the woman was bleeding from the mouth, her physical distress should have been obvious, especially at her age, and that he should have called for help. Anything to shift even the semblance of responsibility away from their client.

 

[RandallFlagg19]

Society has an expectation that children are less capable of being responsible for their action which is why I think children are less responsible for their actions, they have an awareness maybe even a subconscious awareness that they don’t need to be responsible because it’s not expected of them; but I think children have the ability to be as reasonable an aware as adults. I don’t think children have the same ability and reasoning as adults in all situation, but I think in some situation they have the same reasoning and awarness or lack of reasoning ability as an adult.

This kid assaulted (shoved a cane into an elderly woman’s throat, punched her 5 times in the throat, and 5 times in the stomach) and killed her. I don’t think he should have a lesser consequence because he is a child. I think punching someone ten times has a level of awareness. The kid didn’t accidently kill her by shoving her over once, or striking her in the head once; he punched her 5 times in the throat, and 5 times the stomach, after shoving a cane into her throat (a cane in which he had the awareness to go into another room retrieve bring back into the room with the victim and shove it into her throat).

P.S AnnaMarie, I’m not insisting you agree with me, or saying your opinion is wrong, and I’m glad you’re posting what you believe in even though it has many opposing opinions here; I am just providing my reasoning for my viewpoint. I hope you don’t feel targeted by me.

 

[AnnaMarie]

P.S AnnaMarie, I’m not insisting you agree with me, or saying your opinion is wrong, and I’m glad you’re posting what you believe in even though it has many opposing opinions here; I am just providing my reasoning for my viewpoint. I hope you don’t feel targeted by me.

It's all good. Differing opinions make for interesting conversations.

I have an issue with some of the mandatory short sentences when tried as a child. I think if that were not there, we might agree on many other points.

 

[hipmamajen]

Another way to look at the whole "can we charge minors as adults" question.

If an adult woman was carrying on a sexual relationship with this same ten year old, even if he went to court and said "I love her, I want to be with her, I like to have sex with her!" the court would rule that she had raped him.

Why do our courts say that a 10 year old doesn't have the mental faculties to know if they really want to have sex or not, but this other decision he makes is understood to be done with full knowledge and understanding of all of the consequences?

For the record, I don't believe children can consent to sex, and should always be protected by the law.

I don't know that I agree with charging children as adults. I think part of the reason that people don't want children judged as kids is that they often get out when they are 18 or 21, which seems horribly inappropriate given some of these crimes. I don't know what the answer to that is, but it is a weird area where I'm not really comfortable with any of the solutions we seem to have before us.

 

[Lepplady]

A question I'd like to see answered is whether or not he's expressed even an ounce of regret for his actions. That would answer a few questions about his mental state.

 

[staropeace]

A question I'd like to see answered is whether or not he's expressed even an ounce of regret for his actions. That would answer a few questions about his mental state.

If he has not then he may have a sociopathic personality. I am interested in the Holy Trinity of indications shown....bedwetting with animal cruelty and fire starting. If he IS a socipath, they are not going to cure him much. The best thing is to keep him away from his peers. Sounds cruel but heck!
When I did cases for Child Welfare there was this support worker who was murdered by a young client. Give me the crackheads and alcoholics on the street any day. They will watch your back at least.