“The Children all nestled and snug in their beds while visions of sugar plums dance in their heads……”  Santa Claus is coming and children everywhere are making their Christmas wish lists and dreaming of the day to come when wonderful presents are piled under the Christmas tree.

Except for one little boy in Arizona who spends his days in a juvenile detention facility charged with the murder of his father and his fathers best friend.  Many of us who advocate for juvenile justice see this case as the epitome of the flaws in our juvenile justice system.  There are so many flaws in this case that we don’t even know how they can move forward with this case…….yet they are. 

Let us begin with the CLEAR FACT that this 8 year old boy does not know the difference between real and make believe.  Santa Claus, Superman, the tooth faerie and all other make believe characters are as real to him as the postman, the neighbor or his mom.  And pretending to be someone else, engaging in make believe scenarios or any other type of fantasy is part of his every day world.  Yet they interrogated him and believed he was responsible for this act of violence.  The interrogation process is under much scrutiny by human rights and child rights activists.  The practices used by the interrogating officers was questionable at best.  Leading questions presented to an 8 year old boy to bring about their desired result. 

What disturbs me the most is that the officers and investigators in charge, CHOSE, to believe and PERSUE this avenue by arresting and charging this young boy.  Of course I am not privy to the case work and I do not know the evidence they are basing their assumption on.  However, I do know that once they have a suspect (no matter the age) in custody, they will not willingly back down no matter the cost.  Even if it costs this young man his future and life.

I cannot imagine the torture and pain that his mother is experiencing.  Knowing that her little boy is being held in a juvenile detention facility, mostly isolated from other human beings (that in itself a torture that should not be allowed) and left all alone in a very frightening world.  If this young man and his mother had no other traumatic issues in their lives, they will be forever scared by this.  No matter if this young man is innocent or not, this experience will forever shape him.  He will never be the same…..  How can we justify this action against a child…..and call ourselves the leader of nations? 

Below is the latest update. 

Plea deal offered to 8-year-old murder suspect

BOB CHRISTIE | November 30, 2008 |

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PHOENIX — Prosecutors have offered a plea deal to an 8-year-old boy charged with murder in the shooting deaths of his father and another man in their eastern Arizona home, court records show.

Complete details of the offer weren’t spelled out in a court filing posted Saturday on the Apache County Superior Court’s Web site.

But County Attorney Criss Candelaria wrote that he has “tendered a plea offer to the juvenile’s attorneys that would resolve all the charges in the juvenile court contingent on the results of the mental health evaluations.”

Candelaria was responding to a defense motion seeking to block him from dropping one of two first-degree murder charges the boy faces in the deaths of his father, Vincent Romero, 29, and Timothy Romans, 39, earlier this month.

Defense attorney Benjamin Brewer argued in a filing Tuesday that prosecutors wanted the charge dismissed so they could refile it when the boy was older and pursue case in adult court.

Defense attorney Benjamin Brewer argued in a filing Tuesday that prosecutors wanted the charge dismissed so they could refile it when the boy was older and pursue case in adult court.

The prosecutor explained in his response to Brewer’s opposition filing that he wasn’t trying to obtain an unfair advantage, but he pressed for the dismissal because the judicial system isn’t equipped to deal with an 8-year-old charged with murder.

“It is done to ensure that the juvenile and the two murder victims in this case do not fall through the cracks in the system that might occur if both charges remain in the pending delinquency petition,” Candelaria wrote.

Candelaria explained that the boy could be found incompetent to stand trial, and if that happened, the court’s options would be limited.

The court would be required to order efforts to restore the boy to competency, but if that couldn’t be done within about eight months, the judge would be required by law to dismiss the criminal case and bar it from being refiled.

The court would then be required to initiate civil commitment proceedings, Candelaria wrote. If the boy is found incompetent because of his age, he wouldn’t fit the definition of a mentally disordered person and no treatment would be available.

“Such a result denies the victims and public of any sense of justice for these heinous murders,” Candelaria wrote. “It also denies the juvenile the rehabilitative services that he apparently needs to both deal with why he was capable of committing these murders and to assist him with the grief and remorse that he is probably feeling.”

Police in St. Johns found Romero and Romans shot to death after the boy ran to a neighbor’s house on Nov. 5. The boy was questioned after Romans’ wife raised suspicions about him the next day, and in a videotape released by prosecutors, he admits pulling the trigger. Both men were shot several times with a .22-caliber rifle.

Romans worked with Romero and rented a room in his home.

Police reports say the boy told a state Child Protective Services worker that his 1,000th spanking would be his last.

The boy is being held in a county juvenile facility, although he was allowed to spend Thanksgiving with his mother.

Brewer said the boy is back in custody. The next court hearing is set for Dec. 8.

This entry was posted on 4. December 2008 at 12:23 and is filed under Prison Reform Advocates, Juvenile Reform Advocates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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