Killer, 13, sent to juvenile detention until age 21

[alp227]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- A Michigan judge ordered a 13-year-old boy convicted of murdering a woman during a robbery to remain in juvenile detention until he turns 21.

Wayne County Judge Sheila Gibson gave Demarco Harris a blended sentence. The Detroit teen, who committed the crime when he was 12, will be re-evaluated by the court after his 21st birthday.

Depending on the court's findings, Harris will either be released from custody or sentenced as an adult to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

If Harris is convicted of a felony while he is in custody, he will automatically be sentenced as an adult to life in prison, the judge said.

"There are really no happy endings in a case like this," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym I. Worthy said in a statement. "My heart goes out to the family of the victim who have lost a loved one due to a violent and senseless act."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/06/17/michigan.youth.murder.sentence/index.html

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The victim was Trisha Babcock, aged 24 when she was killed on August 1, 2009. A photo of her is on this Anderson Cooper blog.

The Supreme Court ruled last month in Graham v. Florida that juveniles cannot be sentenced to life without parole for non-homicide crimes. I wonder when the Supreme Court has ever ruled on life without parole sentences for juveniles convicted of murder. (In 2005 case Roper v. Simmons the Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutinoal for juvenile offenders.)

A more detailed article in the Detroit Free Press reports that Harris apologized to Trisha Babcock's parents, and Harris was raised by a single mother. Harris's mother blamed herself for DeMarco's misdeed. If Ms. Harris ever appeals her son's conviction and reaches the US Supreme Court, I wonder how the highest court would rule. But for now I'm glad that the court is putting away this boy before he kills another innocent person.

[Jkid]

1. Sentencing a minor under the age of 18

for murder to stay in juvenile hall until 21 and have him reevaluated is a whole lot better than life without parole. That will give him a chance to turn a new leaf.

[sandnsea]

5. I think it's the right plan too

Although I would hope there aren't any states who just stick dangerous juveniles in "juvenile hall" and leave them there anymore. If they don't have an effective rehabilitation program, they're not going to make it.

[bluestateguy]

2. If he is released at 21, most likely he will somehow spend the rest of his life in and out of prison

I just can't see this little monster as having anything positive to contribute to society.

[sandnsea]

4. Depends on the rehabilitation program

There are some very good programs that can turn around young men. Check out the program at McLaren in Oregon. It was featured on HBO. It works. I know several young men who have been through that program and never committed another crime. They also do a terrific job of identifying the ones who are beyond help and move them on to the adult prison. That's the key to all prison release really and it is very difficult to identify the ones who are broken beyond repair.

[bluestateguy]

6. Well maybe

But he didn't steal a car, or burglarize a house. He killed someone in cold blood, at the age of 13 years old too. That does not leave me with a lot of confidence that he can--or should--be rehabilitated.

[sandnsea]

7. That is what the McLaren program is for

Teen-agers who have killed someone. Adult murderers can be rehabilitated, and so can teen murderers. I've known both.

[Doctor_J]

3. Reading the entire article at Cooper's, it seems to me

that Harris doesn't really have a concept of human life. Letting him go would be an insult to innocent people.