Preaching to the choir

That 9 year-old Arizona boy pled guilty today to one count of negligent homicide. Link

He won't serve any time in the state juvenile correctional facility or an adult prison ever. He will be on intensive probation. He might live in an institutional setting or he might live with relatives. He will receive mental health evaluations at ages 12, 15, and 17.

It's certainly better than a first-degree murder conviction or two. It's better than the state's threat to hold onto the more serious charges until the boy was older, when they would try to pursue murder charges in adult court. And goodness knows the boy is going to need some serious therapy after everything he's been through.

This just doesn't feel right. I realize I don't know all the information contained in police reports. I don't know all the behind-the-scenes machinations that went on. But my gut just tells me this isn't the right result here. The boy's mother did not agree to this plea. She steadfastly maintains that her son did not shoot these two men. His attorney hasn't exactly disagreed with her claim.

I have seen snippets of that alleged confession. From what I have seen, I do not trust it. I worry that overzealous police planted the idea in this kid's head. The kid, traumatized by the murder of his father, would have been fuzzy on what had happened and would probably have been highly suggestible. Memory is such a tricky thing that by the time they got him around to saying he'd shot the two men, it would no longer matter whether that was the truth or not. That boy would believe his false confession. I cannot shake the feeling that this is roughly what happened in this boy's case.

Maybe I'm just too optimistic about the innocence of 8 year-olds. But I just can't convince myself that justice was achieved here.