Twelve years of age is about the time when parents believe a child is old enough to care for another child. That’s when they feel sufficiently comfortable going out in the evenings, with the 12 year old in charge. That’s when the telephone calls come, asking if the 12 year old can babysit. The window of opportunity is small, as the social life of a teenager soon leaves them unavailable, and leaves parents forced to parent on their own.
But the convenience of having a little man or woman available to care for a younger child is not without its limitations, and those limitations can be significant. When Brittiany Young left her 5 week old daughter, Millan, with her 12 year old cousin in a car while she went into Target to shop, the results were devastating.
But the convenience of having a little man or woman available to care for a younger child is not without its limitations, and those limitations can be significant. When Brittiany Young left her 5 week old daughter, Millan, with her 12 year old cousin in a car while she went into Target to shop, the results were devastating.
On July 4, the boy was left alone in the car with the baby while her mother, Brittiany Young of Kennesaw, shopped in a Target store. The mother returned to the car 18 minutes later to find her baby limp and unresponsive. The baby died a day later of blunt force trauma, according to an autopsy.
Prosecutors said the boy shook the infant and slammed her head against a hard surface.
It appears that Millan started crying after his mother left, and the 12 year old, who was unnamed, didn’t know what to do about it.
“He was scared and didn’t know what to do so he tried everything he could to get the baby to stop crying. He didn’t know what to do and I don’t expect him to know what to do,” the judge said. “In order to get the baby to get quiet, he committed batteries against this baby.”
So the boy was tried for the murder of his 5 week old cousin. To the extent one can find anything that can be called “fortunate” about this case, it was tried before a judge who demonstrated enormous understanding.
“What I found is that you did some things wrong,”Cobb County Juvenile Court Judge Gregory Poole explained to the boy Friday. “I haven’t found you did something as bad as they say you did.”
The boy was acquitted of the murder, but convicted of two counts of misdemeanor battery.
Why it was necessary to put a 12 year old on trial for what clearly was not a criminal homicide, especially in a state known for its affinity for treating children like unrepentant monsters, merely adds to the demonstration of bad judgment on the part of adults. Thankfully, there was one person, Judge Gregory Poole, who showed the maturity of judgment, the depth of understanding, to avoid turning one tragedy into two.
The judge said his ruling became clear when he saw the tiny pink onesie the baby was wearing when she was injured. That’s when he realized just how delicate and small the baby was. An active child like the boy could have easily harmed the baby just by not being careful, he said.It’s one thing to have a 12 year old babysit a 5 year old. But a 5 week old infant? Parents have no clue what to do with an infant when they cry. How in the world would a 12 year old? Indeed, that the scenario existed for this tragedy to happen demonstrates that poor judgment of the baby’s mother, perhaps even bordering on criminal though it’s difficult to be to harsh on a mother whose 5 week old was lost. Bad judgment happens, both to mothers and 12 year olds. I can’t even bring myself to make a joke about whether Target was having a sale.
Why it was necessary to put a 12 year old on trial for what clearly was not a criminal homicide, especially in a state known for its affinity for treating children like unrepentant monsters, merely adds to the demonstration of bad judgment on the part of adults. Thankfully, there was one person, Judge Gregory Poole, who showed the maturity of judgment, the depth of understanding, to avoid turning one tragedy into two.
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It never ceases to amaze me that the same sanctimoneous pricks who justify all sorts of intrusions into our lives with the mantra, “What about the children?!!”, are the ones who would hang a 12 year old for something like this.
What a heartbreaking story. No one won here. A child is dead, a family is forever damaged, and the crazy prosecutor will no doubt continue to bring these sorts of cases.
I think the 12 year-old defendant probably needs guidance and counseling.
The kid may have a screw loose. A conviction in Florida (I believe) would have placed him in some form of gladiator academy until age 21. If memory serves, there was a famous case from South Florida where a 12 year-old killed a five year-old girl “playing” WWF wrestling. He went to juvie prison, got out, and promptly caught an adult felony, and is back in prison.