12 year old child could be sentenced to life in prison

[yardwork]

From change.org:

Cristian Fernandez is only 12 years old. And if Florida prosecutor Angela Corey has her way, he'll never leave jail again.

Cristian hasn't had an easy life. He's the same age now as his mother was when he was born. He's a survivor of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. In 2010, Cristian watched his stepfather commit suicide to avoid being charged with abusing Cristian.

Last January, Cristian was wrestling with his 2-year-old brother, David, and accidentally broke David's leg. Despite this, their mother left Cristian with his brother again in March. While the two boys were alone, Cristian allegedly pushed his brother against a bookcase, and David sustained a head injury. After their mother returned home, she waited six hours before taking David to the hospital. David eventually died.

Now Cristian is being charged with first degree murder -- as an adult. He's the youngest person in the history of his Florida county to receive this charge, and his next hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.

State's Attorney Angela Corey needs to know that her actions are being watched -- please sign the petition asking her not to try Cristian as an adult:

http://www.change.org/petitions/reverse-decision-to-try-12-yo-cristian-fernandez-as-an-adult

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Unbelievable

And in KS, domestic violence is now a misdemeanor http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2055754

[yardwork]

2. It's incredible, isn't it?

A week or so ago in this forum there was a thread about a 14 year old child who was executed in South Carolina in the 1950s. His family was run out of town. He faced the trial and execution - which happened within days of his being charged - all alone.

I can't get that child's face out of my mind. And now this. The country has gone stark raving mad.

[lucca18]

23. Yes, Incredibly sad.

This poor child...They executed a child. He was too small for the "chair" and had to sit on books before they killed him. How do people live with themselves? When will the evil stop?

[demosincebirth]

3. When I read the headline the first thing that came to my mind was; the South?

[vaberella]

7. For all intents and purposes...Florida is the South. Actually hearing this---I thought Florida.

I wasn't wrong. Florida is the nation of delinquents. It's as if the worst kids in history are raised in Florida. Girls beating up a so-called friend to the point she had temporary deafness---just so they could popular on youtube. The massive infestation epidemic of bullying. It's just a fucked up state.

[DirkGently]

14. Yes, those horrible Florida kids. Always building villages in Haiti & such.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2056256


There is a Florida-related problem here, which is the practice of charging children as adults.


But there's nothing wrong with people or children in Florida or the South that isn't wrong anywhere else in the country, thank you.

[yardwork]

17. Agreed on all counts. It's the adults who are at fault here, not the children.

[stevenleser]

24. There are a lot of issues in FL. One in three residents end up in jail at some point...

Bench warrants are issued for outstanding moving violations as a matter of course, people are arrested all the time on what would be considered minor, give the person a ticket violations elsewhere.

[KansDem]

4. I don't understand this...

While the two boys were alone, Cristian allegedly pushed his brother against a bookcase, and David sustained a head injury.

Why is this not considered an accident? I don't know how many times I've "roughed house" with a neighbor or friend and one of us was injured. No one died, but still..."first-degree murder?"

What will become of the mom? Sounds like she has a lot to answer for, as well.

Why isn't this considered just what it sounds like? A tragic accident?

[yardwork]

5. Yes, it's horrible. Read the whole story at the link.

[JVS]

22. Not to defend trying him as an adult, but I wouldn't consider that to be rough housing.

You don't rough house with someone 2 years old when you're 12. That's not the way you treat a kid that much smaller than you, but then again Cristian seems to have been constantly mistreated as a child and consequently might have a really fucked up idea of how to deal with people.

First to degree murder is weird here though because it means willful and pre-meditated. Either the charge is inappropriate or there is a lot more to the story than that sentence that tells us when and how it happened.

[ladywnch]

6. I swear, this country has lost it's god damn mind! n/t

MOM should be being tried. She withheld treatment for 6 hours. Otherwise this is two kids screwing around and an accident occured.

[provis99]

8. well, he's a Latino. The rules are different for minorities.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

9. really, really sad story. perhaps the mother waited

to take him to the emergency room because she was uninsured, or even if she was insured, she could not afford the co=pays and deductibles, which can run into the thousands (even with insurance).

[1monster]

10. Has the mother been charged with neglect? I'd say she is more responsible here

than the boy.

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. One would think so, wouldn't one? n/t

[fishwax]

15. she's charged with manslaughter, apparently

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2037803/Biannela-Susana-surfed-internet-Pippa-Middleton-Beckhams-son-2-lay-dying.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

[EffieBlack]

12. How sad that, just by looking at the headline, before even reading the story, I knew the 12-year-old

in question was black or hispanic and/or not wealthy.

Good Lord - these people's concern for life begins at conception and stops at birth . . .

[chowder66]

13. Petition Signed. Will be writing tomorrow. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. nt

[fishwax]

16. why go for life in prison? does florida not have the death penalty?

:puke:

It's absurd to try a 12-year-old as an adult.

[PETRUS]

18. Ick. Signed. nt

[yardwork]

19. kick. Please sign the petition. If you are in Florida, contact the prosecutor.

[Cigar11]

20. Real Smart

This is completely in line with Conservative thinking; they prefer to Jails over Education … Fiscal Thinking at its best.

[RockaFowler]

21. This has been an ongoing problem in Florida

There are many cases where children were tried as adults. Some of them did horrible things. But did they deserve to go to jail for the rest of their lives??

http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/jnnews01.nsf/Articles/A8C6608D10A83DCA852577D20068F9B4

“From 2001 to 2006, Florida tried between 2,500 and 3,000 youth as adults. Beyond the high number of transfers, Florida is one of 22 states that has not created a statutory minimum age for transfer to adult court in murder cases, which means that theoretically a 7-year-old accused of murder could stand trial in the adult criminal system in the state. Indeed, there are examples of children as young as 11 being tried as adults in Florida,” the report says.

[AtomicKitten]

25. Tragic all the way around.

Signed.
K&R

[Jennicut]

26. I worked with abused and neglected children. No way should

the 2 year old be around an abused child. Not only that, it was an unintentional death. Disgusting.

[yardwork]

27. kick

[cleanhippie]

28. Why is this in GD:P?

:shrug:

[yardwork]

29. General Discussion: Politics. What could be more political than this?

If threads about Hank Williams Jr. are here, why not a thread about a state prosecuting a child as an adult?

[cleanhippie]

30. General Discussion: Presidency

:shrug: