Boy, 12, Indicted In Brother's Killing

True enough. So did big brother, so did mom (pregnant at 12??? The article doesn't mention it, but I wonder if the dad of big brother was ever prosecuted for rape. Or if he was also a kid at the time.) Such a sad, sorry mess. I wonder what grandma and granddad were like. These pathological messes often go on through the generations.

I hope the boy gets help, but I also hope he gets locked up someplace for a long, long time.

Same for mom. She's only 24. She needs help plus really fool-proof birth-control.
 
It is sad. I honestly do not know what to think of this yet. :( Trying to think of how I feel about him being charged as an adult. I will have to learn a bit more.
 
Babyblue said:
It is sad. I honestly do not know what to think of this yet. :( Trying to think of how I feel about him being charged as an adult. I will have to learn a bit more.
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I have a real problem with him being charged as an adult. And even more of a problem with him being housed with adult prisoners at the age of 12.
 
jillio said:
I have a real problem with him being charged as an adult. And even more of a problem with him being housed with adult prisoners at the age of 12.
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I would love to see this kid get proper help and counseling. I feel he should be charged as a child since he is only 12 and was basically raised in a violent atmosphere. He doesn't know any better or difference on how to act. His behavior was a learned behavior and he percieves it as "normal" behavior. It is all he knew. If the kid can be rehabilitated I am all for it. The prosecuters are afraid that he will not be rehabilitated by the time he turns 18 and released. That is one of the reasons why they want to charge him as an adult. so once he is 18 he will still be in the system.

I highly doubt they will allow him and the adult prisoners to mingle. He will be with other juveniles, in an adult facility.
 
Babyblue said:
I would love to see this kid get proper help and counseling. I feel he should be charged as a child since he is only 12 and was basically raised in a violent atmosphere. He doesn't know any better or difference on how to act. His behavior was a learned behavior and he percieves it as "normal" behavior. It is all he knew. If the kid can be rehabilitated I am all for it. The prosecuters are afraid that he will not be rehabilitated by the time he turns 18 and released. That is one of the reasons why they want to charge him as an adult. so once he is 18 he will still be in the system.

I highly doubt they will allow him and the adult prisoners to mingle. He will be with other juveniles, in an adult facility.
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The juvenile system can legally maintain control over him until he is 21. And there are other options. Incarcerated in a forensic mental health unit for one. They can retain control indefinately in that case. Plus, it has been shown that those committed to forensic mental health units generally spend more time incarcerated than if they had been sent to a punitive facility.

I just can't see how we can call ourselves a humane society when we punish, to this degree, someone for the tragic consequences of what has been done to them.
 
He is being tried as an adult????
What a sick society we live in, to have such laws.
 
Beowulf said:
He is being tried as an adult????
What a sick society we live in, to have such laws.
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It would seem we are becoming less humane by the day. Certainly the defense will have experts testifying why this child cannot reasonably be tried and punished as an adult when he hasn't even technically reached adolescence yet.
 
They could have handled the situation much, much better than this.
 
The boy has been moved back into the Juvenille Detention Center. He is no longer housed in an adult facility.

Judge Returns Boy To Juvenile Center - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville


Judge Returns Boy To Juvenile Center

12-Year-Old Accused Of First-Degree Murder In Death Of 2-Year-Old Brother


POSTED: Friday, June 24, 2011


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A judge ruled at a hearing Friday afternoon that a 12-year-old boy charged with murder in the death of his 2-year-old half-brother be sent back to the juvenile detention center from the Duval County jail.
Cristian Fernandez, who's charged as an adult in the killing, has been held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day at the adult jail.
Chief Circuit Judge Donald Moran said Fernandez will receive better care at the juvenile detention center.
"I don't even know if this boy's guilty. He's presumed innocent, and I will give him that presumption as I'm required to do," Moran said at the hearing. "I'm just a little uncomfortable in holding someone in isolation for possibly up to 360 days, and I think most reasonable people would agree."
A motion filed by the public defender this week that prompted Friday's hearing cites case law and constitutional requirements regarding housing of juveniles in adult jails and prison.
Prosecutors argued at the hearing that Fernandez would be the only person at the juvenile facility who's charged with a violent act. The state attorney has said in the past that Fernandez needs to be confined because he poses a threat to the public.
In documents released Friday, state attorneys cited Fernandez's sexual abuse of his other younger brother and his violent past as reasons he should remain in the adult jail. According to the documents, Fernandez also killed a kitten by punching the animal and repeatedly hitting its head against the floor.

Reporter Notebook: 12-Year-Old In Shackles
Earlier this week, the public defender asked the judge hearing the case to recuse herself because her husband oversees the adult jail where the boy is being held. Judge Elizabeth Senterfitt later removed herself from the case. Moran presided over Friday's hearing.
Fernandez has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in the death of David Galarriago. He is the youngest person in Duval County ever to be indicted on murder charges as an adult.
In a written motion to the chief judge filed Monday, Public Defender Matt Shirk wrote that while Fernandez was held in a juvenile facility for two months prior to being charged as an adult earlier this month, he was continuing to receive his education, interacted with other children and was receiving treatment from mental health experts. [Read motion]
Senterfitt had granted the prosecution's motion to impose a gag order in the case, so Shirk cannot talk about his motion, but Channel 4 did obtain a copy of the court filing.


In the adult jail, Shirk wrote Fernandez is held in solitary confinement to protect him from older, more dangerous prisoners.
"Christian spends 23 hours a day behind a steel door in his isolation block cell, only being released for an hour once a day for individual recreation on a cement court," Shirk wrote, going on to cite case law and constitutional requirements regarding housing of juveniles in adult prisons and quoting a study showing that juveniles are 19 times more likely to commit suicide in an adult jail than youth in the general population.
Fernandez's next scheduled court appearance on the murder charge is July 21.
If convicted, the 12-year-old would be sentenced to life in prison.
Channel 4's Scott Johnson was in the courtroom for Friday's hearing. He gave these updates:
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Beach girl said:
Twelve is old enough to form intent.
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That is true in some cases... however, what they do at 12 is easily molded from what they experienced or learned before the age of 12.

With the mother being in trouble, it's likely he got his experience from how he was raised by his mother and possibly his mother's boyfriend (if she ever had a guy in the picture).
 
VamPyroX said:
That is true in some cases... however, what they do at 12 is easily molded from what they experienced or learned before the age of 12.

With the mother being in trouble, it's likely he got his experience from how he was raised by his mother and possibly his mother's boyfriend (if she ever had a guy in the picture).
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I agree. His behavior was learned behavior, The child percieves it as being "normal behavior"

There were several abusive men in their lives. :(
 
12-year-old Murder Suspect in Court: New Charge May Be Filed | News | Downtown Jacksonville News

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- There has still been no plea deal in the case against the city's youngest murder suspect.

And now, prosecutors say Cristian Fernandez could face another charge for a different felony.

Fernandez was in court this morning for a pre-trial hearing.

The twelve-year-old is accused of beating his 2-year-old half-brother to death. State's Attorney Angela Corey said Monday morning her office is bringing another charge to the Grand Jury on Thursday.

Corey would not elaborate on the details, but court records filed in June show Fernandez was under investigation for the sexual molestation of a surviving sibling.

"I think it's very unfortunate that this child would be subjected to another adult sanction of any kind. He's a little boy, he belongs in little boy court, which is juvenile court," said Public Defender Matt Shirk.

No plea deal has been reached in the murder case between the State Attorney's Office and the public defender's office, meaning the case continues moving toward a Feb. 27 trial date.

"In the juvenile system, we can only incarcerate or have him contained for not even two years, and that is not an option to protect the community. However, we understand at his young age he deserves a chance at rehabilitation. The plea deal we have offered would combine those two things," said State's Attorney Angela Corey.

In court this morning, the public defender representing Fernandez filed a motion to dismiss. That motion will be decided at the next scheduled pre-trial hearing, scheduled for Jan. 3.

In other news from this morning's appearance, local attorney Hugh Cotney has been assigned as Fernandez' guardian ad litem.

Fernandez' stepfather is dead and his mother is also in jail awaiting trial.

Fernandez is charged with murder in the first degree and aggravated child abuse. He is accused of hitting his half brother David Galarriago on the head at least twice on March 14, killing him, said State Attorney Angela Corey after a grand jury handed down the decision earlier this year.

MORE: SAO: Cristian Fernandez Won't Stand Trial, Spend Life in Prison

In exchange for the deal under discussion in November, he would face second degree murder charges and would serve his term in a juvenile facility. Fernandez would then be released when he is 21.

The defense has not accepted but Mark Caliel, a prosecutor with the State's Attorney's Office, said he anticipates scheduling a trial date Monday.

But the SAO has not ruled out negotiating a deal.

The mother of Fernandez, Biannela Susana, is scheduled for trial Feb. 27, according to the Duval County Clerk of Courts website.

Susana was indicted in June in the murder of his 2-year-old half brother. Susana was also charged in the case with aggravated manslaughter of a child.
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More charges may be filed.
 
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