[2Wycked]

An incredibly sad story that has resulted in a child being arrested for murder:

Quote:

Authorities in Alabama were struggling Wednesday to determine the fate of an 8-year-old boy accused of fatally beating a 1-year-old girl he was left to babysit while her mother went to a nightclub.

"This is by far one of the saddest cases that I have witnessed and been a part of since i became a police officer," Birmingham Police Lt. Sean Edwards said at a news conference Tuesday.

Edwards said a murder warrant was issued for the boy after Kelci Devine Lewis was "viciously" beaten to death. She suffered severe head trauma and damage to internal organs, Edwards said. Her body was found in her crib the next day. Her mother, Katerra Lewis, was charged with manslaughter.

The suspect, the oldest of six kids left unattended in the home, became frustrated when Kelci would not stop crying, Edwards said. The tragedy occurred Oct. 11, but information was released just this week because of the slow process of investigating a case dealing with young children. A 6-year-old was a key witness, Edwards said.

The suspect and the surviving children were being cared for by state child welfare officials.

Edwards would not predict the fate of the young suspect, whose case will be handled in family court, but said the youth would require several years of counseling. Edwards said all the investigators in the case were affected by the tragedy.

"One of the things we are trying to process is here is an 8-year-old being able to have such evil in his heart," Edwards said. "You just think of an 8-year-old being a suspect. We've never had a case like this."

Edwards did not say why the parents of the suspect were not charged, and he did not identify them. But he said the mother of the toddler was charged based on her "reckless" actions. He said the charge also sent a message to other parents that such "irresponsibility" is unacceptable.

"There is absolutely nothing we could have done to prevent this," Edwards said. "But the community (must) do a better job to try and protect the lives of children."

Here is a video clip for the TL;DR crowd:

Should an 8-year-old child be charged with murder in this situation?

I don't think the charges are appropriate or warranted in this situation because of his age. We can debate whether charging a 14-year-old is appropriate, but an 8-year-old isn't mature enough to form the requisite intent for murder, let alone face such a long, hefty sentence for his deeds.

The mother, on the other hand. . .

[samsamsam]

Try searching first thread-51661.html

Just kidding. This is a terrible story.