For less serious crimes it gives kids an opportunity to learn without minor infractions screwing up their entire life.
Keep in mind treating children like adults is a leftist goal. It frees them from the parents giving the state more control.
Agreed on the second part, but on the first part you could just take the age in at sentencing. It worries me when you have a situation where law as written can be changed by the whim of a judge. What if it went the other way. Perp is 20, but because we’ve decided he’s really immature, we’re going to charge him as a juvenile.
Story is kind of confusing, at least to me after I read the ABC summary. So, was the grandfather the caretaker of this woman at her home, or his home, and how old is the grandfather? If the grandfather was employed as the caretaker of this woman, then he had a responsibility for her welfare - which includes not letting his 10 year old grandson be with her unsupervised. This isn’t an excuse for the violence, but there are a lot of blanks not filled in.