US boy appeals prison sentence imposed at age 12

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

US boy appeals prison sentence imposed at age 12
Associated Press
Tuesday 30 October 2012
Last Update 30 October 2012 11:37 am

INDIANAPOLIS: An Indiana boy who was 12 when sentenced to 25 years in prison for helping a friend kill the other boy’s stepfather says his case should have been handled in juvenile court.

The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear Paul Henry Gingerich’s case Tuesday.

The boy’s attorney says prosecutors and the judge failed to consider whether the sixth-grader was mature enough to be tried as an adult. Court documents say the only psychologist to evaluate Gingerich raised doubts about his ability to understand the legal process.

State attorneys say the boy waived his right to appeal as part of his plea agreement.


Read more: http://arabnews.com/us-boy-appeals-prison-sentence-imposed-age-12

[Chemisse]

1. The prosecutors must have gotten a good chuckle over how easy it was to trick a 12 year old.

It's disgraceful the way we treat our children in this country when they are involved in serious crimes. At the very least, this boy should not have been allowed to sign an agreement that would be legally binding. In no other situation would a minor's agreement be valid, as if he were an adult.

[leftyohiolib]

2. trick? doubt he was tricked into anything -his lawyer made sure he understood was he was agreeing to

he waived his right to appeal to avoid a trial to avoid a more harsh sentence and now he's trying to get out of it.

[Chemisse]

3. A 12-year-old is simply not equipped to make life-impacting decisions.

Sure he agreed to it. That's what the grown-ups told him to do.

[Heather MC]

4. I think the life impacting decision was made when

he helped kill his step-father. Every thing that happens after that, is part of his own creation

[Warren Stupidity]

6. wow, the downright fascist sentiments expressed in this subthread are amazing.

a 12 year old child should be punished as an adult? Should we lower the drinking, driving, voting, sexual activity age limits to 12 too? Why not?

[midnight]

9. Or maybe we could let them start to vote at 12!

[Warren Stupidity]

10. And drink and drive and have sex and obviously sign binding contracts.

With adult responsibilities there have to be adult rights.

[Heather MC]

20. why underestimate a 12 year olds ability to be evil.

I know 12 year olds that where molesting their sisters and cousin. They grew up to be full blown adult rapist. If they are exhibiting violent tendencies at 12. 6 years will not make much difference. Most criminals started committing crimes before they were 18. Ask a serial killer when he first started thinking about killing, I bet it was way before they turned 18.

[Warren Stupidity]

22. so, another vote for execution of 12 year olds?

WTF.

[Hugabear]

24. So then, should sexual activity with 12yr olds be legalized?

If a 12yr old can have the "ability to be evil", then why not the ability to be sexually active? I'm sure the folks over at NAMBLA would appreciate this logic.

[24601]

37. Isn't that approximately what David letterman suggested about the Palin kid? Maybe it was 14,

instead of 12.

[Bo]

46. I agree with you completely

A 12 year old has no concept of long term consequences and he was being bullied by a 15 year old. How stupid are people in Indiana?

[greiner3]

16. ????????????????????/

[leftyohiolib]

12. "A 12-year-old is simply not equipped to make life-impacting decisions" do you mean like murder

he had no problems that life-impacting decision.we dont what the grown ups told him except im sure some grown up told him not to murder

[Occulus]

21. No, what they mean is that the physical structures of the brain dealing with future consequences

are not fully developed yet.

A 12-year-old person is literally not capable of making any decision with long-term consequences. Their brains literally lack that capacity.

By the way, nice try with the username. Did you think nobody had ever played that music before?

[leftyohiolib]

25. it has to be more than that cause some commit murder and some do not- otherwise

there should be a whole slew of 12yos on trial for all sorts of adult crimes and i know that it happens however if all 12yo's are literally not capable of making any decision with long-term consequences why do some know enough to not commit them? could it be that some kids are "wired&quot not deliberately) to be bad kids who grow up to be bad adults?
oh btw the name comes from the fact that 1. i live in ohio 2. ive voted a straight dem ticket for the last 40 years

[Chemisse]

40. And he didn't make a very good decision, did he?

This is hardly the choice to point to when declaring he is old enough to decide.

[marble falls]

26. Great. A twelve year old is able to understand all these consequence. How do you figure? ....

He's just gotten over believing in Santa Claus. Would you let him sign a loan or get married or drink or get enlist or drive? T-W-E-L-V-E years old for pete's sake.

[christx30]

34. The questions I have is:

What would YOU do in the case of a 12-year-old murderer? Whether or not he understood the consequences of his actions, a person is still dead. His wife will be without him forever. There are no second chances for him. He went into that house knowing that he was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing, but did it any way. Things got way out of hand after that point. But if he had stayed home that night, he wouldn't have been in that situation. Someone hands him a gun and talks about killing someone, and he doesn't walk away at that point, he should be held responsible for anything that happens.

The step dad won't get a second chance. He's dead and gone forever. I think at least 25 years is, at minimum a good amount of time. This murderer will get out of prison when he's 37. That's still plenty of time to try to make something of his life.
It's a hell of a lot more than the stepdad got.

[marble falls]

38. You're right about one thing. The dead person will still be dead. But there's no reason ..

to get "even" by treating twelve year old as an adult. No twelve year old is an adult in any measure. There is no reason to trash a twelve year old person's life in an effort to afford a dead person any kind of justice. 18 year old, maybe. But a twelve year old? Nothing will bring back the dead step-dad. I think as a society we should be past punishing 12 year old children like they're part of the Manson gang.

[Chemisse]

41. So basically you are talking about revenge.

That's what this all boils down to - a very primitive set of human emotions.

[christx30]

44. So should

No one go to jail for murder?
This kid messed up. He messed up bad, and a man is dead because of it.
And I notice that no one has answered my question.. What would do in this case?
You're the judge and this kid, this murderer is standing before you. Would you impose a sentence on the kid? His victim's family is in the room watching the whole thing, wanting justice for the deceased. What do you do?

[Chemisse]

45. I would order him held in a juvenile detention center until he is 18.

And I would do my best to make sure he had the best conditions, so he could grow up to become as emotionally healthy as possible (as opposed to going into criminal-in-training). If legally permissible, I would have him psychologically evaluated before release, and make sure he had plenty of family or community support afterward.

A 12-year-old simply is not equipped to make adult decisions, and should not be treated like an adult when he makes the wrong one. There is a reason children are supposed to have a parent or guardian guiding their choices until age 18.

As far as the victim's family and their desire for revenge, that is unfortunate for them to be caught up in such misery. It must be hellacious. But yielding to them is not much better than just letting the child go with a lynch mob.

[cstanleytech]

47. Well said. nt

[Judi Lynn]

5. Paul Henry Gingerich's Case Background

Paul Henry Gingerich's Case Background

Paul Henry Gingerich

Date of Birth 17 February 1998

Paul Henry Gingerich is currently at 201351 Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility


On April 20, 2010, Phillip Danner was murdered in his Cromwell, Indiana home by his stepson, 15-year-old Colt Lundy, whom he had been abusing.

Colt was the leader of a posse of younger boys he dominated and bullied, sometimes with a BB gun.

Colt enlisted the young boys in a plan to run away to Arizona where his felon biological father lived, and where they’d sell drugs and t-shirts to “drug people.”

He summoned 12-year-olds Chase Williams and Paul Henry Gingerich to his home and surprised them with a twist to the plan they’d never imagined: Colt’s stepfather would have to be killed before they could leave that night.

Colt Lundy ordered 12-year-old Chase Williams to enter the house through a window and serve as his backup. Chase was afraid of Colt and hesitated; Paul Henry protected Chase by climbing through the window instead. But Paul Henry never intended to help kill Danner, whom he’d never even met.

Inside the house, Colt pressed a loaded handgun into Paul Henry’s hand. As the two boys sat in the living room waiting for Danner to appear, Paul Henry tried to talk Colt out of his crazy plan.

More:
http://justice4juveniles.com/index.php?topic=264.0

[center]

Paul Henry Gingerich[/center]

[Crunchy Frog]

14. As deeply disturbing as this story is

many of the posts on this thread are even more disturbing.

Maybe we should abolish child labor laws as well. Isn't it wrong not to allow a mentally competent 12 year old to help his family financially by working in a coal mine? He's perfectly capable of understanding and accepting the implications...

[davidpdx]

7. This brings up some important questions

Does the state have mandatory minimum laws? Was the boy threatened with the use of those laws to coerce a confession? Why wasn't a psych evaluation done? Was the boy given adequate counsel? During sentencing was it taken into consideration where he would be sent to serve his sentence and at what point he would be transferred to an adult prison?

Anyway you look at it, it is a waste of three lives. It makes me sad.

[michreject]

8. As the boy is a minor

I'm pretty sure that his parents or legal guardians were in on the decision to accept the plea.

[hobbit709]

13. If you don't understand by 12 that killing is wrong, I doubt you will ever learn that.

[Quantess]

17. Sure, but that doesn't mean he should be tried as an adult.

Studies have shown that the reasoning and judgment capacities of brains aren't fully developed at age 12.

[Warren Stupidity]

18. so then you would agree that 12 year olds should be tried as adults

and in death penalty states, should be executed if found guilty?

[hobbit709]

30. I said he should have been tried for murder

and 25 years is appropriate.. Even if tried as a juvenile, he still should do 25.

[Warren Stupidity]

32. "Even if tried as a juvenile, he still should do 25."

you seem to miss the point of "tried as a juvenile". Probably because you are in fact uncomfortable with execution of children. But you cannot have it both ways. If adult sentences are to be applied to children, then they are not being "tried as juveniles". If they are being tried as adults, then in death penalty states the death penalty would apply. If you are ok with 25 years for a 12 year old accomplice to murder, how about life without parole?

If this is ok for 12 year olds, how about 8 year olds?

[hobbit709]

35. What do you think the penalty for murder should be?

You think he should have just gotten a slap on the wrist? How many years does an adult accomplice get. Murder is murder, no matter how old you are when you commit.
Serve the sentence in a juvenile jail until 18 and then transfer him to an adult jail.

[Chemisse]

42. There have been cases involving 5 year olds. 25 years for them as well?

[LanternWaste]

31. What is the precise degree of its wrong-ness and on what objective measure is that based?

What is the precise degree of its wrong-ness and on what objective measure is that based?

For we all know there are degree of a thing being right or wring, yes? And if we accept that premise, we may easily rationalize a 12 year old realizing that eating one too many candy bars on Halloween is "wrong", but lack the mental structures to define a real consequence from that. But we would not punish that child.

Therefore, there are degrees of evil that a child should know, and degrees of realization of consequence that same child should know, and if that is indeed, the case, what then is the objective measure?


At twelve and thirteen, I was still a junior world explorer in my own back yard, discovered snakes, frogs, etc., and did things with them that would horrify me as an adult-- the point being, you and I cannot project our own knowledge, experience, and wisdom onto the twelve year old version of ourselves-- it's an exercise in futility

[Crunchy Frog]

15. Some further details of the case.

Colt Lundy ordered 12-year-old Chase Williams to enter the house through a window and serve as his backup. Chase was afraid of Colt and hesitated; Paul Henry protected Chase by climbing through the window instead. But Paul Henry never intended to help kill Danner, whom he’d never even met.

Inside the house, Colt pressed a loaded handgun into Paul Henry’s hand. As the two boys sat in the living room waiting for Danner to appear, Paul Henry tried to talk Colt out of his crazy plan.

Danner appeared in the doorway and suddenly charged, screaming obscenities. Colt fired twice, hitting Danner in the eye and chest. Paul Henry startled and fired twice with eyes closed—he still doesn’t know why. Events had unfolded so quickly and unexpectedly, he hadn’t had time to think.

One of his bullets had gone through a window, but another struck Danner in the side after Colt’s fatal shots.

Paul Henry Gingerich is a vulnerable child who was railroaded by the courts of Kosciusko County, Indiana, and has been placed in mortal danger in his present prison setting.

Following his arrest in Illinois—he, Williams, and Lundy were apprehended 200 miles away when a suspicious store clerk alerted police—Paul Henry was questioned without his parents or an attorney present, and did not understand his right to remain silent.

At a rushed waiver hearing for which his attorney was given only four business days to prepare, a police detective misinterpreted the facts of the case (which were being covered up by Colt’s family) and alleged that Paul Henry was involved in a “murder plot” which was, as far as Paul Henry knew until only minutes before, only a runaway plan.

http://justice4juveniles.com/index.php?topic=264.0

[renate]

23. the kid who talked him into it only got 30 years (last five on probation)

When I first read this I thought Well, he did kill someone... but he didn't go there with intent. Colt Lundy sounds like the scary one, not this poor kid who went into the house to keep another friend from having to.

http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/gingerich-sentenced-to-prison

Edited to add: sorry, I probably shouldn't have made this a reply to your post--it looks like I'm disagreeing when I'm not

[ieoeja]

29. 15 year old with crackpot scheme to run away and make riches, kills abusive step-father on the way.

I wouldn't exactly say the 15 year old was all that mature in this case either. And then there are the mitigating circumstance of his step-father being abusive.

[Chemisse]

43. So was the man was already dead from the other bullet wounds?

If so, this child was railroaded even farther than it at first appears.

[coalition_unwilling]

19. Indiana - at the forefront of the effort to lead us back to the 12th Century - n/t

[Crunchy Frog]

39. With Democratic Underground not being far behind

based on many of the posts on this thread.

[coalition_unwilling]

49. So I wasn't hallucinating! :) - n/t

[Sunlei]

27. way to many years for a 12 yr old who was bullied into 'helping' the 15 yr old

The older boy also got 2 more 12 year olds involved.

[Sadie5]

28. 12 years old

Really sad...I noticed that the judge recommended Walbash Valley as his place of confinement but IDOC instead sent him to Pendleton. From what I know Walbash Valley is a hard core prision filled with rapist and murderers. Pendleton is a dark dirty old looking place and it too is filled with sex offenders but they do have a section for young offenders. He is better off at Pendleton than Walbash Valley. This judge sounds really hateful because of his insistence on a tough hard core prison. Wonder where the actual plotter Colt is imprisoned at? IMO both are to young to be in this hard core environment. Where are the juvenile facilities in Indiana?

[argiel1234]

33. Unfortunately

The American justice system is a nasty joke. What a disgrace

[Si MC]

36. Many ADULTS don't get 25 years!

For accessory, or conspiracy to murder, or even for murder!

[lumpy]

48. It is my understanding that the boy was 10 years of age when the killing was done,

and had previous signs of violence. Had the idea of rehabilitation been considered?