Posted on 05/26/2015 11:43:40 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Leading into a key hearing in her case Tuesday, one of two Waukesha girls charged in the Slender Man stabbing case has asked a judge to declare the law that required her to be charged as an adult unconstitutional and dismiss the case.
Attorneys for 13-year-old Anissa Weier filed a motion last week challenging the law as it applies to her, saying it violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, and that keeping her from the juvenile court system violates her rights to equal protection and due process.
Weier and Morgan Geyser, 12, are charged as adults with the attempted first-degree intentional homicide of their sixth-grade friend Payton Leutner on May 31 last year, after a sleepover at Geyser's house to mark Geyser's 12th birthday. The girls told police they were trying to impress or appease Slender Man, a fictional Internet character they believed could kill them or their families.
Leutner suffered multiple stab wounds but recovered and was able to return to school in the fall.
Wisconsin law requires children as young as 10 to be charged as adults for certain serious crimes, at least to start the case. Young defendants can seek to get those serious cases moved to juvenile court in what's called a reverse waiver.
Weier's reverse waiver hearing is scheduled to begin Tuesday before Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren. Geyser's is set for June.
Under the law, a juvenile has the burden of proving three things: that she can't get adequate treatment in the adult system, that moving the case to juvenile court would not "depreciate the seriousness of the offense" and that staying in adult court is not necessary to deter other children from similar offenses.
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
Two 12-year-old girls were charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide for what police say was the attempted murder of their classmate planned over the course of months. Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier reportedly stabbed their victim 19 times with a five-inch blade and face up to 65 years in prison.
Further developments in the “Slender Man” case.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Try them as adults.
Sociopaths?
The one on the left looks like Marie Harf at age 12. Harf harf harf harf harf!
Kinda looks like Drew Barrymore. Circa “Firestarter”.
Sorta like the druggie sales that arm 15 yr olds with firearms to supervise drug transactions
An adult would get maximum incarceration.
Youths go to family, or juvenile court and will be released as soon as they reachage of adulthood ( generally less than 3 years).
They are being tried as adults. The attorney of one of them is challenging the constitutionality of the law that allows them to be charged as adults.
I’m not going to get too specific with this response, but there are concepts regarding laws to protect minors that bother me.
First, having a record expunged at some point leaves people uninformed and unprotected. You could be coming into contact with someone who committed some very wicked crimes and have no way of knowing it.
Second, while I do agree minors may not quite fully grasp the ramifications of their crimes, and what they will mean to them, I do believe minors know right from wrong. They know killing someone is permanent and that it is wrong.
I don’t agree to reduced sentencing for kids when the crime is of a violent nature, killings or not.
These kids that are supposedly too young to know, in many cases know exactly what the penalties are up front, and what their ultimate escape clause is, as it relates to records expunging.
These two kids should get a very stiff penalty.
I will add, IMO, an attempted murder should get the same penalty as if the attempt had been successful.
The mindset was to kill someone. Penalize for that mindset, and quit playing games “to be fair”. Nothing fair about murder or the attempt to commit it.
”Surprise! I bet you didn’t expect me here, you bitch.”
Top: Melinda Loveless; Laurie Tackett
Bottom: Hope Rippey; Toni Lawrence
You get in the wrong group, and you can be saddled with the evil that exists in the other members.
Several of these girls got caught up in this disgusting mess, and were probably in fear of their own lives if they objected to what was taking place.
What a mess.
Parents need to keep tabs on their kids. I’d rather be thought of as a kill-joy for the rest of my life, than have my son or daughter incarcerated for being a ruthless killing maniac.
Thanks for the post.
You know, most of us think this could never involve their own kids. I say that for the grace of God, there goes our kid.
It’s good to know this element is out there.
They're being tried as adults because it is Murder One.
Whoops, I mean attempted murder one -- planned for months, and the original defense was similar to Son of Sam, instead of a dog giving the orders, a comic book character. Clearly both defenses are nonsensical.
Beau and I were watching the local news this morning and there was a re-cap of this case. I said to him, “This SLAM-DUNK is STILL going on? These little MURDERESSES must be REALLY ‘lawyered up’ for this to drag on so long!”
And...I was RIGHT!
What a horrible story!
Aspiring rappers.
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