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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums9-year-old Michigan boy charged with murdering his mother
FAWN RIVER TOWNSHIP, Mich. A 9-year-old boy faces a murder charge after he allegedly killed his mother at their Michigan home Monday morning.
Court documents allege the boy killed Pauline Randol at about 11 a.m. The boy was charged with open murder and felony firearms. Sister station WXMI is not identifying the boy because of his age.
A neighbor told WXMI that his son heard screaming from next door, and then a few minutes later, deputies arrived to investigate the scene.
"My wife and I both, when we heard that the woman was shot, we both looked at each other and said 'I bet it was him,'" Joseph Lancaster said Wednesday. "
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https://wgntv.com/2019/05/08/9-year-old-michigan-boy-charged-with-murdering-his-mother/
msongs
(67,395 posts)TomSlick
(11,097 posts)Surely a nine year old child cannot really be charged with murder in any State - right? Tell me this is a juvenile proceeding and that the child has not been charged as an adult - please.
Even in Arkansas, we would not charge a child as an adult - with murder!
JDC
(10,127 posts)TomSlick
(11,097 posts)I thought you were explaining how a child could be charged with murder.
JDC
(10,127 posts)elfin
(6,262 posts)What could go wrong??
So they charge the kid?? What's wrong with this picture? A lot.
irisblue
(32,968 posts)Source Freep.com
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/05/08/fawn-river-township-shooting-child-suspect/1142320001/
snip..."The boy was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at a state-run juvenile facility, according to county Sheriff Bradley Balk."
snip...It isn't clear if he was charged as an adult or a juvenile. Authorities have not released the circumstances of the killing or details of why the child was charged."
snip..."Alecia Pieronski of Sturgis told WWMT-TV that the boy threatened to stab her 8-year-old daughter to death in February last year. Pieronski said she told their elementary school principal but that nothing was done.
When contacted Wednesday by The AP, Pieronski said she was not comfortable discussing the comments she made to the TV station."
Looks like ugly all over this sad news
Crunchy Frog
(26,579 posts)Which adult was responsible for the firearm? Did the mother negligently discharge at herself? Some adult needs to be prosecuted, unless the adult is already dead.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,327 posts)Pretty sure a murder charge isn't going to do it, though.
Sancho
(9,067 posts)This is my generic response to gun threads where people are shot and killed by the dumb or criminal possession of guns. For the record, I grew up in the South and on military bases. I was taught about firearms as a child, and I grew up hunting, was a member of the NRA, and I still own guns. In the 70s, I dropped out of the NRA because they become more radical and less interested in safety and training. Some personal experiences where people I know were involved in shootings caused me to realize that anyone could obtain and posses a gun no matter how illogical it was for them to have a gun. Also, easy access to more powerful guns, guns in the hands of children, and guns that werent secured are out of control in our society. As such, heres what I now think ought to be the requirements to possess a gun. Im not debating the legal language, I just think its the reasonable way to stop the shootings. Notice, none of this restricts the type of guns sold. This is aimed at the people who shoot others, because its clear that they should never have had a gun.
1.) Anyone in possession of a gun (whether they own it or not) should have a regularly renewed license. If you want to call it a permit, certificate, or something else that's fine.
2.) To get a license, you should have a background check, and be examined by a professional for emotional and mental stability appropriate for gun possession. It might be appropriate to require that examination to be accompanied by references from family, friends, employers, etc. This check is not to subject you to a mental health diagnosis, just check on your superficial and apparent gun-worthyness.
3.) To get the license, you should be required to take a safety course and pass a test appropriate to the type of gun you want to use.
4.) To get a license, you should be over 21. Under 21, you could only use a gun under direct supervision of a licensed person and after obtaining a learners license. Your license might be restricted if you have children or criminals or other unsafe people living in your home. (If you want to argue 18 or 25 or some other age, fine. 21 makes sense to me.)
5.) If you possess a gun, you would have to carry a liability insurance policy specifically for gun ownership - and likely you would have to provide proof of appropriate storage, security, and whatever statistical reasons that emerge that would drive the costs and ability to get insurance.
6.) You could not purchase a gun or ammunition without a license, and purchases would have a waiting period.
7.) If you possess a gun without a license, you go to jail, the gun is impounded, and a judge will have to let you go (just like a DUI).
8.) No one should carry an unsecured gun (except in a locked case, unloaded) when outside of home. Guns should be secure when transporting to a shooting event without demonstrating a special need. Their license should indicate training and special carry circumstances beyond recreational shooting (security guard, etc.). If you are carrying your gun while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you lose your gun and license.
9.) If you buy, sell, give away, or inherit a gun, your license information should be recorded.
10.) If you accidentally discharge your gun, commit a crime, get referred by a mental health professional, are served a restraining order, etc., you should lose your license and guns until reinstated by a serious relicensing process.
Most of you know that a license is no big deal. Besides a drivers license you need a license to fish, operate a boat, or many other activities. I realize these differ by state, but that is not a reason to let anyone without a bit of sense pack a semiautomatic weapon in public, on the roads, and in schools. I think we need to make it much harder for some people to have guns.