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UPDATED: Will an 11-year-old get life in prison for murder? Here's what you need to know
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UPDATED: Will an 11-year-old get life in prison for murder? Here's what you need to know
Jordan Brown's case is one of the more fascinating and complicated criminal matters to be heard in Pennsylvania... well, ever. And things will continue to get interesting today.
As the Inky noted via the Associated Press this morning: "A Superior Court panel in Pittsburgh must decide whether a boy who was 11 at the time should be tried as an adult in the slaying of his father's pregnant fiancee."
Which deserves some added information:
In February 2009, when Jordan was 11, his father's girlfriend, Kenzie Houk, was found murdered with a shotgun wound to the head. Investigators concluded that she had been shot while she slept. This took place about an hour's drive north of Pittsburgh in a rural farmhouse she shared with her boyfriend, one of her daughters, and Jordan.
It took local cops a short time to investigate and gather that Jordan -- whose father had purchased him a shotgun not long earlier -- had committed the act. Though he denied it -- and continues to deny it -- Jordan was incarcerated and held for trial. Last year, a judge concluded (here's the PDF) that the 11-year-old would be tried as an adult for murder. The judge's rationale: Jordan's refusal to admit guilt showed that he was not sorry for what he did and therefore liable for murder as an adult. (Jordan's lawyers have since countered that this decision doesn't make much sense -- and that's pretty much what today's hearing is about).
Admission or not, this is unheard of in most other states. Earlier this month, for example, a 10-year old in Ohio committed an eerily similar crime. There was zero talk of adult time in that case because in Ohio, a 10-year-old is a child.
In Pennsylvania, however, things aren't so clear. Human Rights Watch has pointed out that the Keystone State sentences hundreds more kids to life in prison than any other state in the country (and more than most other states in the country combined). So in Pennsylvania an 11-year-old may not be a child in the eyes of the law. He or she may be an adult. And adults get harsh sentences: If Jordan is convicted, he'll face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He'll be the youngest person in recorded history to receive that sentence.
The hearing today will get to that. And it'll also begin the process of answering the following question:
Is an 11-year-old liable for murder as an adult in Pennsylvania?
Amnesty International is all over it. (They think Jordan Brown should be tried as a juvenile). And so is Kenzie Houk's family. (They think the kid should die in prison.)
A panel will hear arguments today and eventually make a decision. One way or the other, that decision -- which will take months, as these types of proceedings tend to -- will have a massive impact on juvenile criminal law nationwide.
Peripheral info:
* It's unconstitutional to sentence anyone to death if that person committed a crime before he or she turned 18.
* It's also unconstitutional to sentence anyone to life in prison without the possibility of parole if that person committed a non-homicide offense before he or she turned 18.
* Read the whole Jordan Brown story -- and more about his innocence claim -- here.
* Read about SCI Pine Grove, the institution Jordan will serve time in if he's convicted.
* Read the brief written by Jordan's attorneys and Marsha Levick, Deputy Director and Chief Counsel of the Philadelphia Juvenile Law Center, in favor of trying Jordan as a juvenile.
* Read the "Save Jordan Brown" website here. That site was created by Dan Dailey, who blogs here and consistently breaks more news about this case than pretty much anyone.
UPDATE from the hearing:
* WTAE Pittsburgh (with video): "'My daughter is not coming back,' Kenzie Houk's mother, Deborah, told reporters outside court on Tuesday. 'My two little girls lost a mother, and a brother they waited on, so what gives you the right to think that he can walk away?'"
* Guardian UK: "The US is the only country where juveniles are serving life imprisonment without parole under the so-called 'life means life' policy. Only the US and Somalia have refused to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which rules out life sentences with no chance of release for crimes committed before the age of 18."
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[...] UPDATED: Will an 11-year-old get life in prison for murder? Here's … [...]
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[...] UPDATED: Will an 11-year-old get life in prison for murder? Here's … [...]
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Are you idiotically insinuating that his teachers are somehow responsible because they didn't pay enough attention to this misbegotten son? Spend some time in a public middle school in your town and see what teachers do with the children never corrected or held accountable at home. Sometimes, school is the only place where a kid is safe, fed, and cared for. Parents need to "go to school" and be held accountable for the behaviors of their misguided offspring.
Not really sure how i feel about this situation sounds to me that this child needs help not life in prison and i guess my question is how many things had to go horribly wrong in an 11 yrs life for something like this to happen i have a 12 yr old son and i am far from a perfect parent but he is not a bad child and i can't imagine what this would feel like if my son had done something like this but for an 11 yr old to be so far gone as too kill some one tells me that some parenting was defintely lacking
I know it's hard to not see an 11 year old kid as anything but an 11 year old kid, but if he is in fact guilty, he's damaged goods. There's no helping that. Regardless of what the afterschool specials tell you, there are some things that you can't undo and must pay the price for until you die. Taking a shotgun to a sleeping woman's head, a pregnant one at that, is not something you can 'get over' or 'be cured of'. He's old enough to have decided that he didn't want to share the world with her, and act on that decision. That makes him old enough to rot in a 6x10 cage for 8 or 9 decades.
[...] yo facing life in prison w/o parole for a crime he may or may not have committed Will an 11-year-old get life in prison for murder? Here’s what you need to know :: The Clog ::... My hubby and me are at odds about this. He says, "some people are born without a conscience. [...]
"The judge's rationale: Jordan's refusal to admit guilt showed that he was not sorry for what he did." Presumption of Guilt without proof in trial, your 'Honor'. Keep a close watch on the evidence in the trial guys, this one's gonna be chock full of song and dance.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Astrid and Matt Muir, Philadelphia. Philadelphia said: Will an 11-year-old get life in prison? Here’s what you need to know.: Jordan Brown’s legal si... http://t.jfm.tv/gitUdE #CitypaperBlogs [...]
Its time as society that we realize we need to change the def of what it means to be a child. This "kid" knowingly took a shotgun and killed a person in their sleep! He knew right from wrong and he choose to do the wrong thing. Again he knowingly took another life, he made the deision to pull the trigger. I believe that once you take a life no longer have value has a person, you no longer contribution to society itself. I think anyone who willingly hurts/ kills another human being should no longer have rights. Why shouldn't this kid die in jail? At 11 he his taken another life there is no rehab for that. He should be glad life in prison is all he can get. Had he been an adult he should be tried for the death pentaly. Along with ANY person that KNOWINGLY takes another life thats not in self-defence.
>>> I believe that once you take a life no longer have value has a person, you no longer contribution to society itself. So you're saying once a person is a soldier they are valueless? This kind of hyperbole has no place in a rational debate. You should simply retract your comment out of respect for those who had to make a choice. Let's be clear, this is a child, are children adults? Do we expect them to make adult decisions? No we don't. The actions of the court to elevate this to an adult court are reprehensible. The presumption of guilt on the part of the court is even worse. Why is this even going forward.
Man, I worry about America a lot. I'm writing here from Ireland, where I've experienced our own civil war in the North of the island and the ongoing gangland crime in Dublin. I'm not suggesting we're perfect. Let's get that out of the way. My other half is American. We've talked about moving there. I'm not keen at all. Why? This case is why, or rather it illustrates my two main reasons. Firstly, gun law. In this part of the world, it is not considered legal or civilised to have a gun unless you have a damn good reason for it. Want to hunt? You better apply to the police, get a licence from them (not easy) and have secure places to store it. Kids don't get guns, period. I cannot comprehend what you guys are thinking letting kids have unlicensed guns. Don't quote me your constitution. I know it just as well as you do. It was written hundreds of years ago, long before comprehensive law enforcement. It doesn't reflect today's reality. You might love your right to bear arms, but you got to realise that's why you have many times the homicide rate of Canada, a similarly cultured nation just to your North, populated by pretty similar people. Second reason? You're going to try a 13 year old as an adult with the possibility of life without parole? Seriously? I don't care if he massacred Jesus and all the innocents, and you got video tape to prove it. That is beyond inhumane. Let's say the boy did it. Let's say he whacked his stepmom. That's horrific. But tell me what the purpose of your justice system is? Is it to rehabilitate people to become useful members of society or is it to punish the evil? What man under God can be sure in his judgement? Better we facilitate the possibility of innocence even when we deliver a guilty verdict, better that we permit the possibility of rehabilitating errant children who kill. There are a number of British cases which shed light on this. Let's look at one. The Jamie Bulger killers - one rehabilitated successfully, the other was recently locked up again as an adult on child porn charges. Yeah, rehabilitation doesn't always work. But it worked for one of these kids. That's the important thing. This dead woman and her dead baby aren't coming back under any circumstances. The only person that can be saved at this point in time is this kid Jordan. This kid may be innocent. Certainly there needs to be greater effort into investigating the man who threatened to kill this woman before she died. Then again, he may be guilty. But he's no adult. He is below the age of responsibility for his actions. If he's guilty, he was horrendously wrong. He'll live in horror of it all his life. Does he deserve no chance of redemption, of forgiveness? While your great country continues to permit guns for all without attributing responsibility to ownership, and while it then turns around and seeks to prosecute children as adults and throw them away like trash, I could never live in your country. I'm sorry to say, but that isn't civilised.
In America, a person is supposed to be innocent until proven, beyond doubt, guilty. Because the judge stated the boy should be tried in adult court because he wouldn't admit to the crime says that judge needs a new job and that boy should be free to go home. This boy has waited nearly 2 years for a trial! And it wasn't his defense asking for all the continuances, it has been the prosecution. If they had enough evidence to convict this boy, they would have gone to trial already. Children at the age of 11 do not have a true concept of what death really is, not to mention their brains haven't even stopped developinng yet, so I don't have a clue how anyone can think a child should ever stand trial as if they were an adult. I agree 100% that children (minors) should NEVER be allowed to have guns, and any adult who does not lock up their guns if they have children in the house is just a very irresponsible person.
Are you out of your fucking mind?
Just because someone is charged with a crime doesn't mean they are guilty of it; just because a person is alleged to have committed a crime in the media doesn't mean they did it. This child should be tried or released. Holding him indefinitely is cruel. I've read everything I can find on the web about this case and I can't find anything about his shotgun. Was it found? Had it been fired? Is it, indeed, the murder weapon?
I'm genuinely sickened by this comment. So you're the same person at 11 that you are at 21? This kid is exactly that, a kid. He deserves to be locked up until he's well into his 20's then allowed to be slowly reintergrated into decent society as a normal human being. Yes, what he did (if he did it and I understand there is little proof that he is guilty) is absolutely wrong and yes he needs to be severely punished. But to lock a child away for life? To me that's about as wrong as you can get...why don't you just kill him and take his life now? Sick sick sick
I don't get all of this.. so if he is to be treated like an adult, i hope they give him the right to marry, to vote and so on. for him and for all 11 years old children. since they obviously can think for themselves... and be treated like adults.
It seems odd that the judge wants him tried as an adult because he won't admit guilt, but is presumed innocent until the trial. Go figure.
I live in ellwood city,Pa. 1 town away from where this evil little monster killed the girl and her son...there IS evidence he did it...maybe we should send him to live w/you...he gets pissed off...bye bye
Well, I guess he got his Daddies attention now. Too bad its only once week during their visit.
[...] Jordan Brown’s case is one of the more fascinating and complicated criminal matters to be heard in Pennsylvania… well, ever. And things will continue to get interesting today. As the Inky noted via the Associated Press this morning : “A Superior Court … read full article… [...]
Wow, you mind as well trash the entire juvenile legal system. By your rational, a person under 21 should be allowed to drink if they're mature and understand the ramifications. What about a 13 year old girl who wants to have sex with a 50 year old man? If she is really mature should it be OK? Or does it only work were the state can declare you mature for their own benefit? If this ruling stands it will set an extremely dangerous precedence. One, the judge and prosecutor are violating the defendants constitutional rights by attempting to compelling him to incriminate himself by "showing remorse" for a crime he hasn't even been tried for, let alone convicted. Second, it will allow judges to basically create ad hoc law by simply "declaring" that a child is an adult without any legal reasoning to backup the ruling.
What I'd like to know is what any 11 year old child is doing with 6 guns in their bedroom?
I just want to say I think this summary is well done; I wasn't aware of this case and I'm glad to be. Thanks for the clear-headed introduction to a case I'm now going to follow with great interest. I shudder to think about a child this young being imprisoned for the rest of his life. What life?
The kid's own dad bought him the shotgun. Let me repeat that: The murder weapon was given to the 11 year old child by his own father. If the kid was a monster, as you argue, then the kid needed counseling, child protective services, maybe a teacher at school to pay attention to him, or at worst juvenile detention. What he got instead was a deadly weapon. The same kind he's probably used in his video games that probably served as his babysitter for 11 years. Parents need to take some responsibility for their child rearing, and if they do not, then the community needs to. I don't know this kid, I don't live near him, and I don't know any of the circumstances of this case apart from what's been reported. I do know that an 11 year old has a much different capacity to make rational decisions, and also a very pliable mind with the capacity to change. Unlike the jaded, heartless cynics on this thread.
The biggest issue with this case, and what differentiates it from the Ohio case referenced in the article, is sentencing laws. If he deserves to be locked up 'well into his 20's' then he MUST be tried as an adult under PA law... because the juvy justice system in PA stops on the 21st birthday. Jordan Brown's birthday is in August (other articles reference this), which means that on that day in August 2019 when he turns 21 a couple things happen. - He gets released from detention/prison. - His juvenile court records are sealed permanently. - He has no criminal record as an adult. Nothing to show on a background check, credit report, or anything else. On that day, he could go out an buy a car, a new gun, ammo, whatever else... no record, no need to answer questions, and no way to check because of the juvy conviction.
Many other sources reference a refusal to accept responsibility for his actions... taking someone's book, disobeying the teacher, missing homework. The articles back then said he always had someone to blame for everything.
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