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Prosecutors want boy, 12, tried as adult in school killing

ClaraD

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https://thetandd.com/news/state-and...cle_49c05443-8570-5042-b4ac-26161c424a49.html

So, how young is too young to try a person as an adult? I think that the crime he committed is abhorrent, but at 12, he should not be tried as an adult...because he isn't even close to being an adult. I cannot fathom locking up a child of 12 years for the rest of their natural lives.

Prosecutors say a 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his classmate in a South Carolina middle school hallway should be tried as an adult on a murder charge​

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his classmate in a South Carolina middle school hallway should be tried as an adult on a murder charge, prosecutors told a judge Monday.
The prosecutors' request to move the case out of Family Court did not include any explanation regarding why the boy should be charged as an adult. Murder carries a sentence of 30 years to life in prison in South Carolina. If he is convicted as a juvenile, he couldn't be kept in jail after he turns 22.

Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson was shot during a class change at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville on March 31.

The suspect left school in the chaos but was found hiding under a nearby deck about an hour later and was still armed, investigators said.
 
https://thetandd.com/news/state-and...cle_49c05443-8570-5042-b4ac-26161c424a49.html

So, how young is too young to try a person as an adult? I think that the crime he committed is abhorrent, but at 12, he should not be tried as an adult...because he isn't even close to being an adult. I cannot fathom locking up a child of 12 years for the rest of their natural lives.

Prosecutors say a 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his classmate in a South Carolina middle school hallway should be tried as an adult on a murder charge​

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his classmate in a South Carolina middle school hallway should be tried as an adult on a murder charge, prosecutors told a judge Monday.
The prosecutors' request to move the case out of Family Court did not include any explanation regarding why the boy should be charged as an adult. Murder carries a sentence of 30 years to life in prison in South Carolina. If he is convicted as a juvenile, he couldn't be kept in jail after he turns 22.

Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson was shot during a class change at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville on March 31.

The suspect left school in the chaos but was found hiding under a nearby deck about an hour later and was still armed, investigators said.
I hope the court asks the prosecutors why they think this boy should be tried as an adult.
 
https://thetandd.com/news/state-and...cle_49c05443-8570-5042-b4ac-26161c424a49.html

So, how young is too young to try a person as an adult? I think that the crime he committed is abhorrent, but at 12, he should not be tried as an adult...because he isn't even close to being an adult. I cannot fathom locking up a child of 12 years for the rest of their natural lives.

Prosecutors say a 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his classmate in a South Carolina middle school hallway should be tried as an adult on a murder charge​

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his classmate in a South Carolina middle school hallway should be tried as an adult on a murder charge, prosecutors told a judge Monday.
The prosecutors' request to move the case out of Family Court did not include any explanation regarding why the boy should be charged as an adult. Murder carries a sentence of 30 years to life in prison in South Carolina. If he is convicted as a juvenile, he couldn't be kept in jail after he turns 22.

Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson was shot during a class change at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville on March 31.

The suspect left school in the chaos but was found hiding under a nearby deck about an hour later and was still armed, investigators said.
I agree with you. 12 is far too young to try him as an adult. There are very likely severe mental health problems that must be taken into account. The prosecutor is playing to conservative emotions in an election year with this stance and that is wrong.
 
https://thetandd.com/news/state-and...cle_49c05443-8570-5042-b4ac-26161c424a49.html

So, how young is too young to try a person as an adult? I think that the crime he committed is abhorrent, but at 12, he should not be tried as an adult...because he isn't even close to being an adult. I cannot fathom locking up a child of 12 years for the rest of their natural lives.

Prosecutors say a 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his classmate in a South Carolina middle school hallway should be tried as an adult on a murder charge​

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his classmate in a South Carolina middle school hallway should be tried as an adult on a murder charge, prosecutors told a judge Monday.
The prosecutors' request to move the case out of Family Court did not include any explanation regarding why the boy should be charged as an adult. Murder carries a sentence of 30 years to life in prison in South Carolina. If he is convicted as a juvenile, he couldn't be kept in jail after he turns 22.

Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson was shot during a class change at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville on March 31.

The suspect left school in the chaos but was found hiding under a nearby deck about an hour later and was still armed, investigators said.
Let's try his parents.
 
So, how young is too young to try a person as an adult? I think that the crime he committed is abhorrent, but at 12, he should not be tried as an adult...because he isn't even close to being an adult. I cannot fathom locking up a child of 12 years for the rest of their natural lives.

This is the problem when people in the justice system get rewarded for pleasing the public with 'tough on crime' actions. It makes the idea of laws for children meaningless in the case.
 
The kid should be treated as a child however if while behind bars he still shows violent tendencies or a failure in showing remorse he should not be released to be a continued danger to the public.
 
The kid should be treated as a child however if while behind bars he still shows violent tendencies or a failure in showing remorse he should not be released to be a continued danger to the public.
That child/preteen belongs in a place where they get effective mental health help, which is certainly not in a prison. Prisons in the US are an abkect failure because there is more emphasis put on punishment than on effective rehabilitation so they can be happy and responsible citizens when returning to society.
 
At age 12, the boy’s attorney/s may be able to successfully argue that the accused is not able to understand the gravity of his crime (age of reason).

As a parent of two now grown sons, I don’t believe a twelve year old boy could possibly really understand the gravity of taking another person’s life, but I do recognize that under certain circumstances an adult sentence is appropriate.

 
No minor should ever be tried as an adult.
 
That child/preteen belongs in a place where they get effective mental health help, which is certainly not in a prison. Prisons in the US are an abkect failure because there is more emphasis put on punishment than on effective rehabilitation so they can be happy and responsible citizens when returning to society.
Unfortunately not everyone can be rehabilitated
 
I'm not ready to give up on everyone even if they give up on themselves.
I wouldn’t say give up on everyone but rather understand that some people for whatever reason choose not to accept the help offered them.
 
https://thetandd.com/news/state-and...cle_49c05443-8570-5042-b4ac-26161c424a49.html

So, how young is too young to try a person as an adult? I think that the crime he committed is abhorrent, but at 12, he should not be tried as an adult...because he isn't even close to being an adult. I cannot fathom locking up a child of 12 years for the rest of their natural lives.

Prosecutors say a 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his classmate in a South Carolina middle school hallway should be tried as an adult on a murder charge​

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A 12-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his classmate in a South Carolina middle school hallway should be tried as an adult on a murder charge, prosecutors told a judge Monday.
The prosecutors' request to move the case out of Family Court did not include any explanation regarding why the boy should be charged as an adult. Murder carries a sentence of 30 years to life in prison in South Carolina. If he is convicted as a juvenile, he couldn't be kept in jail after he turns 22.

Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson was shot during a class change at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville on March 31.

The suspect left school in the chaos but was found hiding under a nearby deck about an hour later and was still armed, investigators said.
We should simply let me go and his mother will ground him for a couple days.
 
Serious reservations about trying a 12yo as an adult, barring extra-ordinary circumstances.
 
Serious reservations about trying a 12yo as an adult, barring extra-ordinary circumstances.

When a minor commits these serious crimes, he is acting like an adult and should be treated as one.
At 12 years old he knows the difference between right and wrong.

I would be interested in his home life.
 
In Eric Smith’s case, although he was tried as an adult, he was held in a juvenile detention facility until he turned 21, then transferred to an adult prison.

For crimes as heinous as Smith’s I have a hard time accepting 5 or 6 years off the streets. Individuals like him are best kept out of society for as long as possible, IMO.
 

When a minor commits these serious crimes, he is acting like an adult and should be treated as one.
At 12 years old he knows the difference between right and wrong.
Really? The frontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls reasoning and impulses, develops later, while teens are guided by the emotional, reactive amygdala. It is incredulous to act as if a 12 year old is fully mature and possesses the impulse control and awareness of an adult, and even more so to claim that they should be tried as one with the punishments associated with it.
I would be interested in his home life.
 

When a minor commits these serious crimes, he is acting like an adult and should be treated as one.
At 12 years old he knows the difference between right and wrong.

I would be interested in his home life.
12 year olds do not reason the same as adults
 
Serious reservations about trying a 12yo as an adult, barring extra-ordinary circumstances.
I do not think that even extra-ordinary circumstances is applicable here. A 12-year-old is a child and they have poor impulse control. They also cannot reason right and wrong in the same way an adult can. They understand that killing is wrong, but they do not appreciate the finality of death nor the consequences of killing someone.
 
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