11-yr-old Ind. boy accused of murdering brother, could be tried in adult court

[jpak]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20076958-504083.html

An 11-year-old Indiana boy, who has become the youngest person to face murder charges in Indiana in almost 90 years, could be charged in an adult court for allegedly killing his younger stepbrother.

The boy is currently being charged with murder and recklessness in a juvenile court, but it's possible that he might be charged in an adult court, County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega said in a news conference, reports CBS affiliate WISH. Sonnega says a decision on whether to seek to have the boy waived into adult court would be made later.

Due to a court order, few details have been released about the Thursday night shooting that killed 6-year-old Andrew Frye at his family home near Martinsville. Police arrived on the scene after the 11-year-old called 911 to report the shooting and found the child on a bed in a bedroom with a .22 caliber gunshot wound to the head. Andrew Frye was flown to Indianapolis hospital where he died a few hours later.

Original reports from the sheriff's department had indicated that the shooting was an accident, but Sonnega says they evidence led them to believe that this was not the case.

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[damntexdem]

1. Legalistic child abuse.

I don't care how "premeditated" the police claim the killing to have been.

[TheWraith]

2. It's absurd to be charging an 11 year old as an adult. Undermines the entire concept.

Besides that, though, I have to wonder what happened to this kid. Children don't normally commit murder unless something is very wrong.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Absolutely. On both counts.

For starters, the brain of an 11 year-old isn't fully human. Half the myelin isn't even in place, especially in the frontal/prefrontal regions that we use to plan & regulate our behavior. The neurons in those regions function like a tangled bunch of uninsulated wires.

[one-eyed fat man]

5. AS I recall, some years ago in Ohio

A ten year old and a thirteen year old committed three murders for hire. When caught they openly admitted part of their reasoning was they knew if they were caught they couldn't be tried as adults. They would serve juvenile detention until 18 and be released with their records sealed.

They were correct.

[ileus]

4. blended families kill one another.