MN: Adult prosecution at age 13?

02/18/2007

By David Chanen,
Star Tribune
Last update: February 15, 2007 – 10:56 PM


Lynn Johnson says a 13-year-old boy who pleaded guilty to killing her 2-year-old daughter, Emily, at a home day care last summer never showed any remorse for his crime. And because Minnesota law doesn't allow a juvenile younger than 14 to stand trial as an adult, she believes he got away with murder.

On Thursday, two state legislators introduced Emily's Law, a bill that would make a 13-year-old eligible for adult punishment.

"It's time the law was reviewed before anyone must deal with this tragic situation again," said Rep. Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake, a sponsor of the bill.

Westrom and his cosponsor, Rep. Bud Nornes, R-Fergus Falls, also want to lengthen the amount of time a juvenile offense stays on an offender's record.

Emily Lynn Johnson was injured at a home day care in Fergus Falls on June 16. She died of a head injury the next day. The boy charged with her death pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter. His sentence isn't public because he is a juvenile. If he had gone to trial and been convicted, he could have been imprisoned or institutionalized until he turned 19.

At least 13 states already have a law similar to Emily's Law. In Wisconsin, Kansas, Vermont and Indiana, a 10-year-old charged with murder can be prosecuted as an adult.

Several Minnesota county attorneys, including the one who handled Emily's case, said such a bill is overdue because more juveniles are committing extremely violent crimes at earlier ages.

Opponents argue that teens younger than 15 aren't psychologically mature enough to understand the consequence of their actions and that the adult correctional system isn't equipped to handle them.

"It is irresponsible public policy to introduce legislation like this," said Barry Feld, a criminal procedure and juvenile justice professor at the University of Minnesota. "How can you send kids to prison for life who can barely tie their shoes?"

Youngest lifer: 12

While juvenile crime has increased slightly nationwide in the past several years, violent crime by children 10 to 13 is extremely rare, said Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom. In 1999, 12-year-old Lionel Tate of Florida became the youngest person in modern U.S. history to receive a life sentence, for beating a girl to death. The previous year, a 13-year-old boy who killed four classmates and a teacher at his middle school in Jonesboro, Ark., was sentenced to a juvenile detention center until he turned 21.

Backstrom said that current state laws are "simply not adequate" to address the extreme levels of violence among the very young, but that he doesn't know if adult court prosecution is the answer.

Rep. Westrom said he has no doubt that a 13-year-old understands the consequences of murder.

"This is not an overreaction because of one case," he said.

Emily's death hit close to home for Westrom because he has two 1-year-old children and was a high school classmate of Emily's mother.

Emily's assailant was only a few weeks away from turning 14 when he killed her.

Assistant Otter Tail County Attorney Michelle Eldien, who prosecuted the case, said there would have been "strong consideration" to certify him as an adult if he had been 14.

Midwestern states such as Iowa and North Dakota use the same age as Minnesota to determine when a juvenile can stand trial as an adult. The age is 16 in South Dakota, but prosecutors can consider individual cases.

Minnesota does have a blended sentencing system that allows teenagers to be under the jurisdiction of Juvenile Court with an adult prison sanction hanging over their heads if they reoffend before age 21. In Wisconsin, a juvenile older than 15 convicted of first-degree murder can be placed in a juvenile correctional facility until he or she turns 25.

Don Garber, who has prosecuted juvenile crimes for the Dane County (Wis.) attorney's office for 30 years, said he isn't necessarily in favor of lowering the age of adult prosecution.

Teens often need the privacy offered by juvenile court, he said. And how does a teen, charged as an adult, go to high school while holding a job as part of his probation? he asked.

Cost of life: $1.5 million

Prof. Feld said it is harder for prosecutors to convince a jury that young juveniles can be responsible for their crimes. This could lead to more acquittals, he said. The cost of a juvenile sentenced to life would be more than $1.5 million, he said.

Johnson knows that Emily's Law won't bring her daughter back, but she said the bill could have a great effect if it extends the age at which a juvenile's record can be permanently expunged beyond the current age of 19.

"What if the boy who killed our daughter started his own day care at 19 or was a bus driver and nobody knew his criminal history?" she asked.