Assault with deadly weapon: Girl hits boy with rock.

[javasaurus]

An eleven-year-old girl hit a boy in the head with a two-pound rock. She is being charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon. Thoughts?

Here's the article from WTOPnews.com

Comments

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

the problem with charging as a juvinile is that for the "protection" of the child, it all becomes hidden. as such, it serves no purpose as any sort of deterent or demonstration that such a crime will really be punished. only when charged as an adult does the rest of the community (and more importantly, the rest of the kids of the community *and their respective parents*) know that any such thing has happened. its not just "some kid", but its a kid with a name, with a family, with a potential perhaps now destroyed.

*maybe* it might be the thing to wake parents up and get them to actually be parents again...

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

sorry 'bout the crappy spelling -- i meant to run that through a checker first...

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

Supposedly the prosecution is making sure it will be a public issue. Though charged as a juvenile, the trial will be public, and the prosecution is not accepting a plea or admission of guilt to avoid a public trial.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

i think you're missing my point on junenile trials -- even though the trial is fully public, the media (either by law or by tradition) never "names names" of any juvie charged or convicted. only when they are tried as an adult, and/or are an adult at the time of arrest (like the DC area sniper kid) will they be named...and putting a name to a crime increases its impact greatly.

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see your point. But it doesn't apply here. Her name is in the second paragraph of the article. Maribel Cuevas.

[blueeowyn.livejournal.com]

I read it as the defense not accepting any plea bargain that involves her admitting guilt. Bennett is the defense attorney.B

[(Anonymous)]

Oops! My mistake. That makes much more sense. (I originally mis-read it as the prosecution not accepting a guilty plea, I presumed for the sake of increasing public awareness.)

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

the above anon. was me -- didn't realize I wasn't logged in!