Pennsylvania Considers Life in Prison for 11-Year-Old Accused of Murder
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Jordan Brown and Kenzie Houk
Juvenile Jordan Brown is set to be tried as an adult by a Pennsylvania court for allegedly murdering his father’s 8½-month pregnant fiancée when he was 11 years old.
The criminal case has garnered attention from child advocates in the U.S. and overseas who object to treating Brown as an adult. If convicted, the now 13-year-old would receive life in prison without possibility of parole, making him the youngest child in American history to receive such a sentence.
Brown is accused of shooting Kenzie Houk in the back of the head while she was asleep with a child-sized shotgun his father had given him. Brown had five other guns in his bedroom. Because Houk and her unborn baby both died, Brown is facing two counts of premeditated murder. According to one doctor who examined Brown, he was resentful because he would be moved out of his room to make way for the new baby.
The judge overseeing the case, Dominick Motto, decided that Brown should be tried as an adult because, despite convincing physical evidence, he has refused to admit guilt and has shown no remorse.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
US Child Appeals against Being Tried for Murder as an Adult (by Ed Pilkington, The Guardian)
Will an 11-Year-Old Get Life in Prison for Murder? Here’s What You Need to Know (by Matt Stroud, Philadelphia City Paper)
Pennsylvania v. Jordan Anthony Brown (Court of Common Pleas, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania) (pdf)
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