I’m sure that most of us have heard about the 16 year-old Chicago teen Derrion Albert that was beaten to death in a brawl while walking home from school. The horrific video footage, which shows his assailants thrashing him with a railroad plank, was captured on a cell phone and made national headlines.  The Fenger High School student was laid to rest in Chicago on Saturday, October 3, and Jesse Jackson as well as other civil rights leaders attended Albert’s funeral at Greater Mt. Hebron Baptist Church.
Although many can’t help but wonder if Albert’s death hurt Chicago’s chances of winning the 2016 Olympic bid, this cruel beating further highlights Chicago’s problem with violence, and particularly exhibits what happens when misguided, gang-affiliated youth take matters into their own hands. The brutal, senseless actions of these teens show exactly how limitedly they appreciate humanity and their own future. According the Chicago Defender, four teens, Silvanus Shannon, 19, Eugene Bailey, 18, Eugene Riley, 18 and Eric Carson, 16, were charged on September 28 as adults with first-degree murder and held without bond as ordered by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.  Chicago Police continue to search for at least three more suspects responsible for the homicide.
Three out of the four suspects held, being age 18 and above, are rightfully so being charged as adults because the understood age of adulthood in the United States is 18. However, 16 year-old Eric Carson is also being charged as an adult for this crime, and many may wonder: how can he be charged as an adult and not be at or above the age of 18?
In juvenile court, the judge has the right to a judicial waiver, which recognizes from then on the juvenile as an adult in the court system. Some states leave it up to the judge to decide if the juvenile will be tried as an adult while others make a judicial waiver mandatory based on the seriousness of the crime. According to Slate.com, the elements considered are: “the nature and circumstances of the crime; whether the offense was committed in an aggressive, violent, or premeditated manner; the merit of the charges; the sophistication, maturity, and prior history of the minor; the need to protect the public; and the likelihood that the child can be treated and rehabilitated.â€
In the case of 16 year-old Eric Carson, the heinousness of mercilessly beating Derrion Albert to death warrants being tried as an adult for most Chicagoans, tired of gang and youth related violence.
Posted by Adrienne on October 6, 2009 at 2:35 pm.
Yesterday the news reported that Arne Duncan and other key political figures from Capitol Hill had a forum with Chicago officials about youth violence. The parents from the Fenger H.S. neighborhood were not in attendance at that forum because it was held at a Four Seasons on the Gold Coast. Anyone else see a repetition of a problem? This violence occurs in low income neighborhoods; the further officials separate themselves from those areas, the easier it is for them to distance themselves from the reality and the solution of the problem — revitalizing those areas.