Boy, 14, faces murder charges: Public defender says case sends wrong message

David Harris, a 14-year-old indicted Monday as an adult in the fatal shootings of two men, could spend the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted.He was indicted on one count of aggravated murder, one count of murder and two counts of aggravated robbery in the deaths of George Vance, 27, and David Hutchinson, 20. Monday's indictment, Weber stressed, sends the wrong message. Ohio law states that 14 is the youngest age a juvenile can be tried as an adult. If convicted, the teen could spend the rest of his life in prison. Harris' attorney, Assistant Hamilton County Public Defender Terry Weber, said the indictment  sends the wrong message. State law already allows for juveniles charged in serious crimes to be treated differently. "If you are going to give up on juveniles and not at least attempt to rehabilitate, why do we have a juvenile system?" he said. "We have a serious youthful offender classification, where you can hold an adult sentence over the youth's head. That's what that (law) was enacted for. "Hold them until 21 and see if you can rehabilitate them," he added. "If not, you still can impose an adult sentence." The purpose of juvenile law is to rehabilitate while the purpose of adult criminal law is to punish individuals for their crimes against the state.[more ]