Adult? I Don't Think So ...

by Kathryn Casey

Okay, there's no argument; if the facts being reported in the press are true, Jordan Brown committed a horrendous act. He allegedly lay in wait with a shotgun, covering it with a blanket. While his stepmother, eight and a half months pregnant, lay in bed, Jordan aimed at her head and pulled the trigger. Afterward, authorities say he picked up the shell casing and disposed of it, throwing it away as he walked to the school bus from their western Pennsylvania farmhouse.

I'm not usually an apologist. I believe people need to be held responsible for their actions. Still, sometimes there are mitigating circumstances. In this case, however, I haven't seen reports that Jordon's step-mom, 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk, did anything to provoke the attack. Certainly the male fetus Houk carried had done nothing wrong. (That's a photo of their funeral on the right below.) Jordan's motive: the one being bantered about is jealousy.

So what's my problem with the case? Sure Brown's young, but isn't the crime more than heinous enough to make the Pittsburgh judge's decision to try him as an adult the right one? If the facts prove true, doesn't Jordan Brown deserve a first-degree murder charge and a possible life sentence without the possibility of parole?

Not in my opinion. Why? Because Jordan Brown was eleven at the time of the February 20, 2009, killing.

Does anyone involved with this case truly believe that an eleven-year-old is an adult? Have they ever had children? Do they interact with children? Come on folks, eleven is eleven, seven years younger than eighteen. It's sixth grade. We're talking about the quarterback on the pee wee football team. The boy hadn't even been to middle school yet.

Chronologically, Jordan was seven years from legally becoming an adult on the day he is supposed to have pulled the trigger. Psychologically, his mind is indisputably that of a child. He hasn't even made it to adolescence. He hasn't had adult experiences, doesn't have the advantage of the learning that comes with aging. Currently the system is doing the right thing, housing Jordan in a juvenile facility. He needs to be tried in the juvenile courts as well. Why? Because that's what he is.

Disagree? Go stand out on the street and watch the kids in your neighborhood walk to school. Pick out the eleven year olds, and remember what it's like being a little kid. If authorities are right and Jordan Brown murdered his step-mom and unborn step-brother, that's truly a horrible tragedy. Does he deserve to be punished? Absolutely. But does he deserve to be judged as an adult? Not in my opinion. And not in the opinion of Jordan's dad, Chris Brown.

Jordon Brown was eleven years old on that fateful day. He still wasn't sure, according to his father, if Santa Claus existed. Despite the understandable fury over his alleged crimes, the boy needs to be treated fairly, judged for what he is: a child.