Jordan Brown, 11-year-old accused of Pa. murder, might not be tried as an adult after all
(CBS/AP) PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A three-judge panel has reversed a lower court's ruling to try murder suspect Jordan Brown, now 13, as an adult.
The appeals court says Brown, who was 11 when he was charged with killing his father's pregnant fiancee, was denied his constitutional right against self-incrimination when a county court rejected arguments that he should be tried as a juvenile.
Brown is charged with the shooting death of 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk and her unborn son, in New Galilee, Pa. in 2009.
He could face life in prison if convicted as an adult but would be freed by age 21 if tried in juvenile court.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says a Lawrence County judge based his decision to try Brown as an adult largely on the boy's refusal to take responsibility for the crime, which both defense and prosecution psychologists testified is necessary for rehabilitation through the juvenile court system.
But Friday Superior Court judges Judith Olson and Cheryl Lynn Allen said that decision violated Brown's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Prosecutors argued that in such proceedings, courts can assume that the juvenile committed the offense for purposes of deciding the appropriate court. But the appeals court said "there is a major difference between a trial court ASSUMING that a juvenile is guilty and REQUIRING a juvenile to openly admit guilt."