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News & ArtsMonday, February 15, 2010
Crime Boy, 12, Might be Tried in an Adult Court
Posted by Charles Mudede on Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 12:59 PM
Classic American backwardness:
(CNN) — On a chilly morning in February 2009, state police found 26-year-old Kenzie Houk in her bed with a bullet though her head. She was eight months pregnant.The police believe the boy killed the pregnant woman with a shotgun. And who exactly owned this gun? And how could a boy have easy access to such a weapon? And why was the boy taught to use a deadly weapon? Not the boy but the father is the one who should be charged with child abuse and negligence.The search for her killer ended with the most surprising murder suspect residents of Wampum, Pennsylvania, had ever seen: 11-year-old Jordan Brown, the son of the victim's fiancé.
He is one of the youngest suspects in the country to be charged with homicide, legal experts say. There are two counts of homicide, one covering the fetus.
In Pennsylvania, there is no lower limit for the age someone can be charged as an adult with criminal homicide. If convicted, Jordan, now 12, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
...The victim's family wants Jordan to be charged as an adult for taking two lives, they say.
They remember Kenzie Houk as beautiful, friendly and popular. Family members say they miss attending weekly bingo nights, cooking dinner and watching Steelers games with her.
3
12 year olds in Pennsylvania are taught to use shotguns so they can kill food, like ducks and rabbits. So that part of the equation is not "child abuse" at all. But yeah, trying him as an adult is asinine.
4
But if they try him as a minor, he will get out by 18 or 21. Can you live with someone who shot a sleeping pregnant relative in the head walking the streets soon after their high school graduation? There has got to be a better alternative, somewhere in the middle.
5
I have experience having people burned alive. Though that was for heresy I feel most strongly that such punishment will suffice in this incident.
6
Whoa sock puppet alert. Is there going to a later post with a some fifth-grade rant about class or race relations?
7
I'm with @4. Yes, this kid is probably way confused and may be totally reformable, but then again, 11 year olds can be pretty self aware, and understand right and wrong, and death, and consequences. An 11 year old who can pick up a shotgun and shoot his pregnant soon to be stepmom in the head as she sleeps is pretty terrifying. I don't know that "try him as an adult" is the right way to put it, but surely something more needs to be done than sending him to his room without his dinner.
And YES, the father surely should be charged with a whole host of things, and be held just as responsible for the child's actions as the child.
And YES, the father surely should be charged with a whole host of things, and be held just as responsible for the child's actions as the child.
8
It would be nice if the victim's family could see past their grief and rage long enough to recognize the absurdity of trying a child for a crime he doesn't have the emotional maturity to fully understand. But then, why should we expect the victims to have more wisdom than the people actually charged with creating law?
Pennsylvania has the death penalty also...why not go after him with that? I guess they don't have the stomach for it. Life imprisonment will have to be enough.
What savages.
Pennsylvania has the death penalty also...why not go after him with that? I guess they don't have the stomach for it. Life imprisonment will have to be enough.
What savages.
9
Oh Bullshit.
While yes 11 is young, but they're well-aware of the fact when people die they don't come back (if they haven't, go ahead and beat the parents black and blue).
The fact he took a shotgun and attacked his soon to be stepmom while she was asleep, while she did not do anything that would've provoked a fit of anger that would cause a rash reaction... yeah I'd say it sounds pretty premeditated.
Some people are psychopaths, and some show these signs quite young.
While yes 11 is young, but they're well-aware of the fact when people die they don't come back (if they haven't, go ahead and beat the parents black and blue).
The fact he took a shotgun and attacked his soon to be stepmom while she was asleep, while she did not do anything that would've provoked a fit of anger that would cause a rash reaction... yeah I'd say it sounds pretty premeditated.
Some people are psychopaths, and some show these signs quite young.
10
Yeah, kids don't have the emotional maturity to understand the full scope of their actions in many cases, but shooting your stepmom in the head while she sleeps is not something that would just occur to a normally-developing 11 year-old boy. Are they sure this kid is not mentally impaired? Like, severely impaired in some way?
11
Why did he do it, though? He is not a baby. I would be surprised if I found out he did it just for "shits and giggles". Both the father and stepmother are at fault. I suspect abuse.
12
There were a lot of people I would have killed during my tween years had I known I could get away with it.
Sorry, an 11 year old knows exactly what he is doing. So what is an appropriate punishment?
Sorry, an 11 year old knows exactly what he is doing. So what is an appropriate punishment?
13
The boy had easy access to the weapon because it was his own.
From a HuffPo article:
"the weapon, a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, was found in what police believed was the boy's bedroom. The shotgun, which apparently belonged to Brown, is designed for children and such weapons do not have to be registered,
. . .
Jack Houk said the boy and his father used to practice shooting behind their farmhouse, and the two enjoyed hunting together."
"The attorney said Christopher Brown was "in a state of actual shock and disbelief." There was no indication the boy had a problem with Houk, he added."
In a culture like that of rural Pennsylvania, where guns are seen not as murder weapons but as sports equipment, a man teaching his son to shoot is seen as being a good father. It`s the opposite of abuse and neglect, to those sorts of people.
It`s unfortunate that nowhere in their gun-based father-son bonding time did the father see any hints of murder in his son.
From a HuffPo article:
"the weapon, a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, was found in what police believed was the boy's bedroom. The shotgun, which apparently belonged to Brown, is designed for children and such weapons do not have to be registered,
. . .
Jack Houk said the boy and his father used to practice shooting behind their farmhouse, and the two enjoyed hunting together."
"The attorney said Christopher Brown was "in a state of actual shock and disbelief." There was no indication the boy had a problem with Houk, he added."
In a culture like that of rural Pennsylvania, where guns are seen not as murder weapons but as sports equipment, a man teaching his son to shoot is seen as being a good father. It`s the opposite of abuse and neglect, to those sorts of people.
It`s unfortunate that nowhere in their gun-based father-son bonding time did the father see any hints of murder in his son.
14
Look, 11 years old isn't a clear cut case of whether or not he really knew what he was doing. If he was three (well, three year olds probably can't manage a shot gun, but if a three year old killed her with a hammer), we would all agree that he shouldn't be tried as an adult. But 11? That's a grey area. The prosecutor needs to closely examine any extenuating circumstances to decide if he should be tried as an adult. Some 11 year olds are mature enough that they should have full moral responsibility for their actions, others aren't. But if this 11 year old really knew what he was doing, then he definitely should be tried as an adult.
And second: child abuse and negligence? What? Maybe negligence, because, no, the child should not have had easy access to a shotgun. But child abuse? You seem to be implying that the mere act of teaching a child how to shoot a gun is child abuse. And that is just wrong. There's nothing wrong with an 11 year old being taught by his father how to shoot a shotgun. I was taught how to shoot a rifle at age 9 or 10, at 4H camp, and guess what, not me, nor any of the hundreds of kids who went to camp with me, have shot anyone.
And second: child abuse and negligence? What? Maybe negligence, because, no, the child should not have had easy access to a shotgun. But child abuse? You seem to be implying that the mere act of teaching a child how to shoot a gun is child abuse. And that is just wrong. There's nothing wrong with an 11 year old being taught by his father how to shoot a shotgun. I was taught how to shoot a rifle at age 9 or 10, at 4H camp, and guess what, not me, nor any of the hundreds of kids who went to camp with me, have shot anyone.
15
@3 "trying him as an adult is asinine."
How should he be tried then? A juvenile who made a big mistake? Ugh. The kid is a sociopath. By age 5, most children realize that taking away life is wrong. . By 11 there is no doubt in any child's mind that murdering - especially a relative or family member, not a "bad guy"- is wrong. The moral compass is building throughout those primary years. This kid's compass was broken. If he knew how to hold a SHOTGUN to her head and then pull the trigger he knew what the outcome would be. He killed her while she slept in cold blood. Sounds premeditated. I hope he never sees the light of day.
How should he be tried then? A juvenile who made a big mistake? Ugh. The kid is a sociopath. By age 5, most children realize that taking away life is wrong. . By 11 there is no doubt in any child's mind that murdering - especially a relative or family member, not a "bad guy"- is wrong. The moral compass is building throughout those primary years. This kid's compass was broken. If he knew how to hold a SHOTGUN to her head and then pull the trigger he knew what the outcome would be. He killed her while she slept in cold blood. Sounds premeditated. I hope he never sees the light of day.
16
I was given my late grandfather's 12 gauge shotgun at the age of 8, and taught how and when to use it. 42 years have passed, and I have yet to shoot a person with it. Why? Because I was taught right from wrong. I believe that the kid can be rehabilitated, and it will cost a lot less than making him a guest in the greybar hotel for the next 60 years.
18
We don't let 18 year olds drink alcohol because we, as a society, right or wrong, have decided that 18 year olds can not make adult decisions. But guns and 11 year olds?...meh, no problem.
19
If there was "a bullet through her head" then it wasn't a shotgun that killed her. Which was it: shotgun or handgun/rifle?
20
@ 19- Sabots and slugs are types of bullets. They are commonly fired from shotguns to kill larger game (deer, etc) or sometimes people.
21
@18
This.
He's not old enough to be married, drive a car, or in some cases legally own property because society has decided that those things are for adults, and an 11 year old is not an adult. He does not have the same rights as an adult, but it's ok to punish him like one?
This.
He's not old enough to be married, drive a car, or in some cases legally own property because society has decided that those things are for adults, and an 11 year old is not an adult. He does not have the same rights as an adult, but it's ok to punish him like one?
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