Considering that this boy has had serious behavioral problems since the age of 5, I would say that the safety of the public trumps the interests of the child. Since he has already committed a murder, it is likely that somewhere down the road he will kill again. Keep him locked up until he is too feeble to harm anyone else!
HOW WILL ‘THE SYSTEM’ DEAL WITH 10-YEAR-OLD MURDER SUSPECT?
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
February 20, 2012
A ten-year old boy is accused in San Diego Juvenile Court of murdering a young friend by stabbing him to death with a kitchen knife. As you might expect, the system has some problems dealing with serious very young offenders.
Right now there is only one person under the age of 14 in the state system. The average age of wards held by the state is 19. Most of them have already been through county programs, some of them repeatedly. It is unknown right now if the state system will even exist when this young man’s case is adjudicated. Right now the state spends about $179,000 per year per ward. The counties spend about $2,400 per year per juvenile detainee.
The young man is question is the adopted child of a school teacher. His birth mother was a junkie and he started having significant behavior problems at age five or so. There seems to be little doubt that he actually committed the act of which he is accused, though that does not mean he will be found to be responsible.
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