The 12-year-old who could become America's youngest ever 'lifer' for killing two-year-old brother

[blueclown]

Source: Daily Mail

Prosecutors want to lock a 12-year-old boy up for the rest of his life - to stop him from killing again. Cristian Fernandez could become America's youngest ever 'lifer' after being charged as an adult over the murder of his two-year-old brother. Prosecutor Angela Corey said: 'We have to protect the public from this young man'. She recommended that he face trial as an adult. Ms Corey said the public had a 'right to be protected' from him.

If Fernandez were charged as a juvenile and convicted he would be free by the time he is 21. Fernandez is alleged to have beaten his younger brother David Galarriago to death at their home in Jacksonville, Florida, in March. The two-year-old died from a fractured skull that caused bleeding on the brain. He died two days after being admitted to a hospital.






Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394557/12-year-old-Cristian-Fernandez-Americas-youngest-lifer-gets-life-prison-killing-year-old-brother.html

---

His mother gave birth to him when she was 12. His father died of suicide from depression. I really hope that he avoids getting a life sentence, and that he can be reformed while in prison. I am just not of the belief that a kid who is fully aware of the consequences of their decisions at that age.

[davidpdx]

1. That is sad

The kid was dealt a raw hand from the beginning. I don't know what issues he has, but he needs help.

[iwishiwas]

2. He belongs in a mental health facility, not jail.

[blueclown]

6. Agreed.

[w8liftinglady]

38. agreed.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. Jesus . . .

Read this child's biography. How about try him as a child while he gets intense, professional treatment? THIS is the result when people have children (I'm referring to the grandmother here) they regard as little more than crotch droppings. Generation after generation. It's an element we never address when talking about the prison population.

This child didn't have a chance. :cry:

[ProfessionalLeftist]

5. I know people who have that attitude. Kids on ritalin

Because the parents refuse to parent. And that's the only reason. They act as if they 'crapped' a child and now don't know what to do with it so they do nothing and the kid runs wild. So exasperating.

[Bragi]

11. Maybe the parents are damaged to begin with?

It takes generations and huge social and economic inequality to really mess up families for generations, and America seems to have just what's needed to do this thoroughly and consistently.

Especially important to this formula is broad social and political agreement that the blame for crime must go to the victims -- be they the children, or the parental victims -- who must be punished very harshly if they or their kids step across the line.

That's how a society gets to build the most jail-friendly country in the world, and to fill their jails with a seemingly endless supply of socially and economically disadvantaged people.

[Dutchmaster]

8. Depends . . .

What is his diagnosis? If he has Anti-Social Personality Disorder (more commonly called psychopaths and sociopaths) then he actually belongs in jail. There is no known effective therapy or medication for these people. As much as it pains me to say it, these people belong in jail.

Whether or not ASPD can be effectively diagnosed at 12 or not I am unsure of at this time. Also, state laws concerning criminal mental health treatment for minors may be a consideration here.

[Le Taz Hot]

10. Please read this child's biography.

There are consequences to exposing a child to that much trauma early on. The ONLY outcome for him would be emotional/mental/behavioral disorders but you think we should punish him . . . again.

Welcome to DU and enjoy your stay.

[Dutchmaster]

33. It's not about punisment . . .

It's about protection for society at large. If indeed he is ASPD (i.e. psychopath or sociopath), as I said before, there is no known therapy, medication or cure for it. There are factors in this case that none of us are completely aware of I am sure. However, a 12 year old who kills a 2 year old is likely devoid of empathetic capability. I understand he had a difficult life, but a lot of people come from similar and worse circumstances and don't kill babies, because they aren't ASPD.

Any mental health professional worth their salt will tell you, ASPD's do not belong in mental hospitals.

[Bragi]

12. What other country jails 12 year olds for life?

You seem convinced that adult prisons are the only way of dealing with children who become violent offenders. Or am I misreading you?

[Dutchmaster]

34. I'm sorry . . .

I don't know how you could have gotten "convinced" out of my post where I state that I don't know all the facts. And I don't think this is an issue of adult prisons or not. I highly doubt any state would put someone in an adult prison before 16 at the earliest. I could be wrong though.

My statements speak only to what I am surmising the likely diagnosis is and what the logical consequences are, if that is indeed the diagnosis.

[Bragi]

4. How can jailing children for life be bad?

America didn't become the most incarceration-happy country in the world by accident.

It takes a broad social and political consensus to build support for the idea that it's okay to have 2 per cent of your population locked up in jails at any point in time.

The consensus also includes widespread agreement that it's best if the justice system pretends that children who commit serious offenses are actually hardened, career criminals who deserve the same harsh treatment as adults.

[coalition_unwilling]

26. And now that extra-judicial executions are all the rage (see Osama

bin Laden), I offer the modest proposal that we dispense with the economically inefficient practice of trials for the accused in capital cases and simply proceed directly to execution.

:sarcasm:

[bucolic_frolic]

7. This is about Personality

or developing personality, probably prior to age 6. Can it be reformed/altered? Who knows.

My take is it's wrong to automatically release him at 21, and wrong to keep him incarcerated for life.

But such behavior indicates some anger, and I seriously doubt his actions were a conscious decision.

More like an emotional reflex action. Not sure that can be changed inside people.

[Jefferson23]

9. Insane backward punitive measure, incredible what this country embraces in the name of justice. n/t

[Chimichurri]

13. 'Fernandez had previously assaulted his brother and broken his leg. '

Wow. This child has severe mental health issues. How anyone at any age can do that to anyone, let alone a defenseless toddler is beyond my comprehension.

I don't know what the right answer here is but I can say for certain that I would not want this violent behavior anywhere near my children.

[Le Taz Hot]

17. My guess is this child probably

had displayed violent behavior before either of these incidents occurred; however, in that the mother was so young and likely had not been properly parented herself, she failed to do the right thing and seek help for him . . . assuming that, with all the cuts in social services, help would even have been available.

This child had no one to guide him. No one to teach him. No one to protect him. He was, literally, rudderless. I forget at what age a chld's brain is fully developed but I know it isn't 12. We expect him to act like a "civilized human being" when he has never known civility.

[Bragi]

21. "I would not want this violent behavior anywhere near my children"

Sorry, but that's a lazy answer to something that isn't in question.

[Chimichurri]

22. I'll help you since you have trouble reading. I already said

"I don't know what the right answer here is" so I'm not sure what exactly you are looking for. Nor do I care.

[Bragi]

23. This is why I wrote what I wrote

A clarification for any reader:

The poster's point suggested that having this child roam free with other children was an option being advocated. No-one here was advocating any such response, nor anywhere else, far as I know. This is the kind of false alternative/scare tactic that the pro-jail crowd often uses. That's why I responded as I did.

[DireStrike]

36. I'm drunk and don't understand your response

But I'm glad you took the time to break it down like that. Thanks.

Seriously.

[JAnthony]

14. I would think Florida would favor just electrocuting him NOW to save $

after all, he might live in prison until he's 100 !!! That's a lot of expense for the state of Florida!

Just execute the kid now, save the taxpayers some $.

:sarcasm:

[coalition_unwilling]

28. See my post #26 for my gloss on your suggestion. I mean, why even

bother with a trial? As the extra-judicial execution of Osama bin Laden demonstrates, some folks jes' need a-killin'

:sarcasm:

[rasputin1952]

15. This disturbed child needs help, not a life sentence in prison...

what has happened to our system to allow things like this to happen?

How much tragedy can one go through?

What he did was deplorable, but to call for a life sentence for a 12 year old does nothing to make me think we are even close to a sane society...:(

[Sancho]

16. Florida puts under-18's in jail for life all the time...

We had one from here get a life sentence at 15 a few years ago. That same kid had both a psychologist and psychiatrist tell the judge to put him in a mental facility a few months before he killed someone...and they just put him on the street.

Florida has little or no health intervention, but they prosecute all violent "crimes" regardless of the age of the "offender". Many courts here try almost all cases as adults. I would not be surprised if he got life in prison.

[blackspade]

18. Ridiculous

While this is a horrible crime, this 12 year old is a child, not a 'young man' as the prosecutor says.

[Historic NY]

19. Instead of little animals he physically abused his little brother...

this kid has issues that even prison won't fix.

[harmonicon]

20. Are mods on cough medicine today? Why was a story in Florida moved to the UK forum?

Ok, I know why - so it wouldn't turn into some flame fest, but this is just silly.

[struggle4progress]

24. ... Documentation told of a life of abuse and the two were living with Fernandez's grandmother, who

had a drug habit, prior to foster care. He also had to deal with the trauma of his stepfather shooting himself in front of the family after police came to arrest him on child abuse charges ...

The 12-year-old who could become America's youngest ever 'lifer' for killing two-year-old brother
By Paul Thompson
Last updated at 3:51 PM on 6th June 2011
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394557/12-year-old-Cristian-Fernandez-Americas-youngest-lifer-gets-life-prison-killing-year-old-brother.html

[struggle4progress]

25. ... Frenandez's mother, Biannela Susana, 25, was not home at the time of the beating, she was

charged with negligent manslaughter in connection with the toddler's death. According to her arrest report, when Susana came home and found the toddler unconscious, she wiped him off, changed his clothes and put ice on his head, hoping it was just a concussion and the boy would wake up. Police said she did not immediately call 911 and waited two hours before driving David to St. Luke's Hospital. Doctors told police that if she had sought immediate medical treatment, the boy might have survived ...

Corey: Age, Abuse No Excuse For Murder
12-Year-Old Youngest Person To Face Murder Charge In Duval County
POSTED: Friday, June 3, 2011
http://www.news4jax.com/news/28121420/detail.html

[struggle4progress]

27. ... Assistant Public Defender Rob Mason .. said Fernandez’s father is a construction worker who has

never been around, partly because he went to prison for statutory sexual assault charges after impregnating Fernandez’s mother. Biannela Susana, 25, had Fernandez when she was 12. Susana and Fernandez went to foster care together when Fernandez was 2 and she was 14, Mason said, because authorities found the toddler walking around dirty and naked outside a South Florida motel while his grandmother, who would have been about 34 at the time, nursed a drug habit inside ...

Defense: 12-year-old charged in toddler's death was abused, neglected as child
Grandmother abused drugs, father spent time in prison and stepfather shot himself.
Posted: June 3, 2011 - 9:37am
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-06-03/story/defense-12-year-old-charged-toddlers-death-was-abused-neglected-child

[struggle4progress]

29. A couple of days after a 2-year-old died in an Alden Road apartment, State Attorney Angela Corey

made a trip to juvenile court ...

"He looks so baby-faced," she said. "We have some 12-year-olds who are starting to look like grown men. They're big and strong. He has just sort of a round face, wide-eyed look" ...

But two months later, that baby face was all over newspapers and newscasts after Corey made what she describes as a "tough, but necessary" decision.

The boy was being charged as an adult.

'Baby-faced' boy's case highlights debate about trying juveniles
Cristian Fernandez, 12, faces life without parole if convicted of killing his 2-year-old half brother.
Posted: June 5, 2011 - 12:00am
By Mark Woods
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-06-05/story/baby-faced-boys-case-highlights-debate-about-trying-juveniles

[alp227]

30. if you dont wanna click on the daily mail i posted this story with local sources earlier

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1233828

this is so messed up, how this kid had to grow up with an underage mother and not learn morals and that leads to him beating his little brother to death

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LanternWaste]

32. The possibility exists that one set of answers ..

The possibility exists that one set of answers may be little more than visceral reactions while another set may be not be.

Sometimes we look at an action academically, other times we look at an action emotionally. Conflating the two may set up many fallacies... :shrug:

ed: sp

[aikoaiko]

35. "Prosecutors decided to charge Fernandez as an adult...after reviewing his history of violence..."

This is the part I want to know about. Let's face it. There are people, rare as they may be, who are born sociopaths or made that way.

[ecstatic]

37. The boy is sick and needs a lot of help,

but sending him to an adult prison for life is not the answer.