An eight-year-old Arizona
boy is facing two counts of premeditated murder for the deaths of his father
and his father’s friend. Police are investigating whether abuse played a role
in the murders, even as they continue with plans to prosecute the child.
Soon after 29-year-old Vincent Romero and 39-year-old Timothy
Romans, who was renting a room at the Romero house (pictured), were fatally shot, the boy went to
a neighbor’s house and said that he believed his father was dead. Police
immediately arrived on the scene, and claim to have gotten a confession from the
child. But the boy’s lawyer is charging that officers questioned him too severely
without the benefit of a parent or representative at his side. (The boy’s
father had full custody, with the mother visiting from out-of-state on the
weekends.)
"They became very accusing early on in the
interview," attorney Benjamin Brewer said. "Two officers with guns at
their side, it's very scary for anybody, for sure an 8-year-old kid."
Although the boy’s home was unknown to Child Protective
Services, police had responded to domestic violence calls there in the past. The
judge has ordered a psychological evaluation.
Under Arizona
law, children as young as eight can be charged with crimes. Even though the
town’s police chief understands that an eight-year-old does not “just decide
that he’s going to shoot his father and shoot his father’s friend for no
reason,” police are pushing to have the boy tried as an adult.
To me, the fact that the boy immediately alerted neighbors
of the deaths indicates that he lacked the moral reasoning necessary to
understand the emotional complexity and consequences of his acts. No one, no matter how young, should be
excused for committing murder, but I will be heartbroken if this boy, well
before his mental capacities are fully formed, faces murder charges as an
adult.
As a defense attorney uninvolved in the case commented, “[S]ociety
has to make a decision as to whether they want to start using the criminal
justice system to deal with 8-year-olds. That doesn't mean you don't have a
troubled kid."
Photo: AP
