We live in an "anything goes" era in which it takes a lot to surprise or appall. But a 12-year-old child invading a home and cold-bloodedly shooting someone to death? Even by today's tolerance for violence, that's a stunner.
Only slightly less stunning was that the child's suspected mentor in crime, also charged with murder, apparently hanged himself in his cell Monday just hours after the youth appeared in juvenile court for a detention hearing. The judge rightly decided to keep the pre-teen in detention.
The bizarre but tragic series of events began last week with a brutal crime that resulted in former Tubman Middle School seventh-grader Coreon Andreiko Jackson being charged in the shooting death of Roosevelt Cowins, 65. Richmond County authorities could not recall another area case in which a murder suspect was so young.
Jackson allegedly entered Cowins' Fenwick Street home March 19 with 21-year-old Willie Herbert Casey, found dead in his cell Monday. According to witnesses, the victim was shot as the two home invaders, reportedly bent on "collecting a debt," forced their way through the front door.
Casey allegedly shot the victim twice in the back, but Cowins' sister, Lillian Trant, 70, told police it was the 12-year-old who stood over her fallen brother demanding money before he fired what may have been the fatal bullet into the victim's chest. Then the duo fled, inexplicably sparing Trant's life. She said she heard the boy laughing on the way out.
If Jackson is convicted of the murder, the harshest sentence he can receive in family court would be nine years in a youth detention facility. After reaching age 21, he would be free.
That's a ridiculously small price for a cold-blooded killer to pay, but it's the most that Georgia law allows. One must be at least age 13 to be charged in Superior Court as an adult for a serious crime like murder, rape or armed robbery.
Casey's hanging likely saved taxpayers money. Had he lived, he could have faced death-penalty charges, not only for his role in the murder, but also for corrupting an adolescent.
Yet this doesn't change the fact that Georgia's law regarding juvenile crime is way out-of-date. It's based on the antiquated notion that the worst crimes kids commit are throwing rocks at street lights or writing graffiti on public property. That may have been realistic 40 or 50 years ago, but not in this violent era.
The state law needs to be updated to trust local judges to decide on a case-by-case basis when a youth of any age should be tried as an adult and to have the option of keeping a young killer incarcerated beyond the age of 21. And if they get it wrong? Well, that's what appeal courts are for.
Children must learn to take responsibility for their behavior, especially violent behavior. Adult crimes demand adult justice.
Comments
Hopefully Chronicle this will be addressed sooner than later as the killing is not going to stop. Many seem to coincide with gang activity and to the playing hours on end the many computer games that desensitizes the child to the cries of others they are harming.
As long as our federal government still feels it's necessary to "buy votes" with an unbridled social system, these children will continue to be bred and released on the public. Without responsibility and respect (neither is required for receiving social program help) people are very close to the animal kingdom. Save our country. Make social help rare and difficult to qualify for.
One way to stop the senseless killings is to kill the senseless killers. Age twelve is not too young to die, but I think Roosevelt would argue 65 is.
Keep in mind that the young man is presumed to be innocent. That is our law.
In a court of law, he's presumed innocent. By the victims sisters observation no presumption is necessary.
If Lillian had access to a weapon she could have killed these poor victims of society who were just trying to make ends meet. I'm sure it was not laughter but cries of pain she heard from the youth as he ran away. How sad being forced to kill to survive at such an early age. I'm sure he was just heart broken over it. Perhaps a few weeks in detention will straighten him out so he can grow up to be a productive member of society. After all he only shot a man, it is not like Vick the murderous dog slayer. Ahh, It's good to be Bizarro!!!Hee, hee.
Children can be influenced to do anything. He'll learn far more criminal skills in prison. We have one aberrant situation here and everyone is acting like the sky is falling. Hold the adults in this situation responsible and try to fix the child.
Grouse, which adult are you going to hold responsible? His mother who is doing time, his father who is God knows where, or his elderly grandmother who couldn't keep up with a 12 year old who was hangin' with the wrong crowd. I say hold the young man accountable. He knew that what he did was wrong, otherwise he would have stood there twiddling his thumbs until the police arrived.
Well said, AC. couldn't have done better myself. constitution - many of these women like this boy's mother refuse to identify the father on the birth cerificate. That could be why the father is unknown. They also have multiple sex partners and don't know which one "took" and fathered the child. I think there ought to be a law to require these girls and women to identify the father and make them pay support. But, they know the governement with our tax dollars will do it for them.
grouse.."He'll learn far more criminal skills in prison". Are you saying that there is things worse that what he has just done?
Likely this lad will never be a productive citizen and will always be an economic dependent of the state. Statistically speaking. If his life were like Health insurance we would consider him a high risk individual. Ideally it would be great to see him productive but reality is another story so likely he will be a repeat offender. I hope I'm wrong.
This editorial is just plain wrong-headed. There is no such thing as an adult crime - kids have killed since antiquity. It used to be in this country that we recognized that when an adult used a child to commit a crime, the adult was primarily at fault and the child could change. That is one of the reasons that we have a juvenile system - but during the past 20 years or so, the politics of "personal responsibility" have clouded reality. Adults can manipulate children into doing horrible acts. Adolph Hitler knew this, as have plenty of other people who have groomed children for violence. From the killing fields of one country to the next, children as young as 9 or 10 have been used as tools by adults. At the end of WWII, we forgave the children of Hitler's regime and put them back into society, and most - despite committing brutal acts as children - grew into decent adults. One even became POPE. This child has been horribly used by a monster. Despite the belief that the boy did the killing - the adult truly did the killing - the child was merely the tool. This kid will change when taken from the influence of the dead killer - 9 yrs is plenty to fix this kid
I don't know if this 12 year old can be reformed lawyer, but I think laws are in place for a reason and you cannot change the law just based on this case. What if the majority of crimes committed by minors were not this serious, but the kids all had to face adult punishments because the law got changed due to this case? People should think about this before speaking.
Changing the law isn't going to change impulsive, irrational behavior of children and teenagers. We already have laws that prohibit drinking, speeding, truancy, etc., and it still happens. It won't be a deterrent to them or for this aberration. This child cannot make decisions regarding law and representation as an adult can, therefore he should not be charged, strictly speaking, as an adult. I am in no way excusing what he did, but what kind of society executes or sentences to life in prison a child?
....we SHOULD be the kind of society that punishes harshly those that kill. Laws may not stop criminals....accountability does. We use laws to hold people accountable and this one is no different. Laws for this child and for the family he came from ie: no father, mother not caring, no curfew, etc. How much do you bet that this is what he came from?
grouse - he certainly does not need to be freed at age 21. He is a street wise thug and knew right from wrong. His grandmother tried to teach him. His teachers at school tried to teach him. He is solely accountable for his actions.
lawyer - not only are kids manipulated, but adults are as well. There is no difference. The Barbi Bandits were adults and manipulated by another man. The two girls are held accountable. One is going to jail. The other has a long probation. All are responsible for being manipulated. All are responsible when they drink to much and go out and kill someone in an auto accident. They bent the elbow that put the killer alcohol to their lips.
The Barbi bandits may have been manipulated, but they had the benefit of 5 years of extra maturity and a high school education. A small boy becomes a big boy with a gun - and some child manipulators play on the insecurities of these little kids - many are in difficult environments and feel powerless to change their circumstances. We have always recognized the manipulation of children - from Oliver Twist to the Hitler Youth - in fiction, fact, folklore, and reality. It's the very basis for our laws that protect children from pedophiles. We recognize that adults can manipulate young children - most often those less than about 15 - through "grooming" mechanisms. That monster that killed himself probably played big brother to the kid - took a fatherless little boy at 10 or 11 and convinced him that his way was the only way - and that the other well meaning adults were not his friends. Pedophiles and kiddie murder manipulators - same deal. Break the spell of the Hitler and bring up the kid. This kid can make it if you recognize who the true murderer is. I am not saying don't punish him - but time in a youth prison will hurt him plenty - and teach him that his teacher was wrong.
youth prison may do him good. He will have the chance for an education, three good meals a day, and he will be off the streets and monitored. Some times prison reforms, some times it destroys even more. It's just like society. Some make it and some don't.
I think the kid should be a "poster child" for the pro-choice movement. Maybe a title underneath: "YOU want this little monster. NO! Then do yourself and society a favor and have an abortion." Uhh, boy. My bad! All this just makes me angry. A twelve year old boy standing over a man and shooting point blank. Even if you had a weapon to protect yourself it would be difficult to retaliate.
I do not necessarily advocate youth prison - in many cases involving youths it can have a destructive effect - that is why the State of Missouri's programs are being heralded now as the future - small scale facilities of no more than 20 youths; with non violent offenders in local programs. Even NYC is taking nonviolent offenders out of institutions.
What most people - like the editorial board here - fail to recognize is that children under 18 commit less than 13% of violent crimes and less than 1% of juveniles commit violent acts. Younger children have been charged in recent years with faux crimes under zero tolerance policies - kids as young as 6 or 7. Youth crimes steadily decreased nationwide since the early 90's, when mainstream media hacks erroneously claimed the advent of the juvenile super predator era. We get fake trend juvie crime articles every week in America.
This kid can be handled: 2-3 yrs in a small scale facility for violent kids, followed by 2 yrs in a transitional facility, 3yrs intensive probation; and restorative justice incl. meeting w/victim's family to learn about the damage that he did. Remember - 7 yrs to a 12 yr old is like 20 yrs to adults
Pardon me, but isn't nine years for a murder about what the average adult actually serves? They let them off on good behavior because they have to make room in the jails for new offenders.
Adults convicted of first degree murder generally receive life sentences. Statistically, in the past, most have served about 25 years - though there are people still in prison after 53 years for murder, a man sentenced at 14 for second degree murder in Mass. has been in prison since 88, and someone sentenced at 13 for murder in NY has been in prison since 89, and other examples abound. With life without parole for juveniles between 12 and 18 in a number of states, the statistics will show much higher incarceration periods over the next 20 years. This is very different from most EU countries, where life in prison generally translates to about 13 years even for the worst offenders (though there have been a few abberations). Somehow people stay safe in those places - and some have laws that prohibit charging any child under 10 or 12 or even 14 with crime regardless of the act alleged. Even Britian sets 10 as the minimum age of criminal responsibility, but the US has held tight to the Biblical notion or 7 being the age of criminal responsibility - Florida being one of the exceptions, where 5 year olds have been dragged from classrooms in handcuffs.
patriciathomas, you are right - end all social welfare and make more and more young people even more desperate and deprived - that will go a long way toward stopping crime. Isnt there a short bus somewhere with a seat open for you?
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