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America’s Youngest Convicted Killers Scheduled to Be Released
WTKR ^ | JULY 24, 2015 | Doris Taylor

Posted on 07/26/2015 12:29:37 AM PDT by nickcarraway

The two youngest children in U.S. history to be tried as adults for first-degree murder are scheduled to be released from prison in the next nine days, according to ABC News.

Curtis and Catherine Jones were 12 and 13 years old, respectively, when they pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the killing of their father’s girlfriend, Nicole Speights, in 1999.

The siblings were given an 18-year sentence and will be on probation for the rest of their lives.

WFTV reported that the siblings accused a male relative of sexually abusing them, but their father and his girlfriend ignored their pleas for help. That’s when the siblings began plotting to kill all three people involved. They did not go through with their plan after shooting Speights.

Florida Today reported that child services found some signs of abuse, but nothing was ever proven.

Prosecutors told ABC News that the reports of sexual abuse were not dealt with in court.

Curtis is now an ordained minister and Catherine married a pen pal, according to Florida Today.

“Of course there are fears, mainly because there’s so much I must learn to function like a normal person: how to drive, fill out job applications, text, dress for a job interview, build my credit,” Catherine wrote in a letter to Florida Today in 2014.

Catherine is scheduled to be released Aug. 1 and Curtis is scheduled for release on July 28.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; US: Florida
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 07/26/2015 12:29:37 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

They should have gone to the authorities if they were being abused, not kill someone. Sounds like there was more to this story than reported.


2 posted on 07/26/2015 1:29:33 AM PDT by Catsrus (WWWW)
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To: Catsrus
Curtis is now an ordained minister

Same church as Obama's pastor?

3 posted on 07/26/2015 1:51:58 AM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: Catsrus
They should have gone to the authorities if they were being abused [...]

From the article:

Curtis and Catherine Jones were 12 and 13 years old, respectively, when they pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the killing of their father’s girlfriend, Nicole Speights, in 1999.

Regards,

4 posted on 07/26/2015 2:25:52 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: alexander_busek

Nobody’s wearing a halo in this story: why vengeance not on the abusing man (if the story is correct) but on his lover? They could slay a woman but not try to tell a teacher, if not a policeman.


5 posted on 07/26/2015 3:32:27 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: alexander_busek

OK, it wasn’t even on the abusing man’s lover.

That was probably a good part of why so much wrath fell. Had they killed the alleged abuser it might have been viewed more leniently. But here was a relatively innocent party (though she might have been involved in covering it up). Just figuring.


6 posted on 07/26/2015 3:35:36 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
My original reply was not intended to imply that what these two pre-teens did was logical - let alone justifiable. On the contrary: It was meant to indicate that it is silly to expect children in that age-group to find the most-rational solution to a problem.

Regards,

7 posted on 07/26/2015 3:59:56 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: nickcarraway

Oh my god! probation for THE REST OF THIER LIVES?


8 posted on 07/26/2015 4:04:09 AM PDT by ronnie raygun
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To: ronnie raygun

In the most real sense imaginable we are all on probation for the rest of our lives.


9 posted on 07/26/2015 4:49:59 AM PDT by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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To: windcliff

Ping


10 posted on 07/26/2015 5:18:25 AM PDT by stylecouncilor
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To: Louis Foxwell

Hello Louis,

Your comment resonates like an alarm bell, “In the most real sense imaginable we are all on probation for the rest of our lives.” Sadly, so few hear and respond.


11 posted on 07/26/2015 5:20:29 AM PDT by Tomato lover (Jesus wants to give you forgivness, repent, accept Him as the risen Lord and be saved)
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To: nickcarraway

Here’s the “Militant Negro” take on this: http://theobamacrat.com/2015/01/15/lets-start-thursday-off-with-some-injustice-history-of-sexual-abuse-leads-children-to-become-killers/


12 posted on 07/26/2015 7:28:57 AM PDT by vladimir998 (Apparently I'm still living in your head rent free. At least now it isn't empty.)
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To: Catsrus

Sounds like the authorities investigated abuse allegations multiple times and never did anything.


13 posted on 07/26/2015 8:26:19 AM PDT by Impy (They pull a knife, you pull a gun. That's the CHICAGO WAY, and that's how you beat the rats!)
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To: Impy

Florida is big on what you said: http://lostangelsnewlaws.blogspot.com/2012/11/child-abuse-changes-laws-part-1-kayla.html


14 posted on 07/26/2015 10:20:04 AM PDT by Shimmer1 (America: Sic transit gloria mundi)
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