US boy, 8, charged with murder after beating toddler to death

[webfact]

Alabama 8-Year-Old Charged With Murder in Toddler’s Beating
By ALAN BLINDER

ATLANTA — An 8-year-old boy has been charged with murder in Birmingham, Ala., where the police said Tuesday that he had “viciously attacked” a toddler whose mother had left children alone while she visited one of the city’s nightclubs.

The authorities announced their intention to prosecute the boy, who was not identified, nearly a month after the death of 1-year-old Kelci Lewis. The child was found unresponsive on Oct. 11, and a police spokesman said Tuesday that investigators believed the older boy had become violent because the toddler would not stop crying.

“The 8-year-old just recklessly, viciously dealt with the 1-year-old,” the spokesman, Lt. Sean Edwards, said at a news conference on Tuesday, one day after the girl’s mother surrendered to the authorities and was charged with manslaughter.

Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/us/alabama-8-year-old-charged-with-murder-in-toddlers-beating.html?_r=0

-- The New York Times 2015-11-11

[Pimay1]

I wonder if Ms. Lewis will start a website soliciting funds for the child's funeral and we will see another case of her buying a new car with the funds like the one reported last week.

[oncearugge]

The USA must have some very strange laws if eight year old children can be charged with murder.

The only person directly responsible for the toddlers death is the Mother, who it seems, prefers "clubbing" over ensuring the safety and well being of young children.

The child should be taken into care not prosecuted.

[webfact]

Police: 8-year-old charged in beating death of 1-year-old
By PHILLIP LUCAS

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An 8-year-old boy is being charged with beating a 1-year-old girl to death while they were left home alone as their mothers went to a nightclub, Alabama police said Tuesday.

The boy beat and killed 1-year-old Kelci Devine Lewis when she wouldn't stop crying, Birmingham police spokesman Sean Edwards said. The mother of the toddler, 26-year-old Katerra Lewis, also is charged with manslaughter, he said.

"This is by far one of the saddest cases that I have witnessed and been a part of since I became a police officer," Edwards said. "This type of irresponsibility on behalf of a parent is totally unacceptable."

Police said a murder warrant has been obtained for the boy, who is now in the care of Alabama's child welfare agency, the Department of Human Resources. His case will go through the family court system. There is no minimum age for prosecution in Alabama, said Tobie Smith, of the Legal Aid Society of Birmingham.

The 8-year-old was the oldest of six children left alone as his mother, who has not been charged or identified, and Katerra Lewis went to a nightclub on Oct. 11, Edwards said.

A woman who answered a call to a number listed for Lewis referred questions to attorney Emory Anthony.

"The only thing I can say at this time is to allow the process to play out," Anthony said in an email. "I think there will be new information coming out at the hearing."

A 6-year-old who was in the home told police what happened and the details were consistent with the toddler's injuries, Edwards said.

Kelci Lewis suffered severe head trauma and major damage to her internal organs, Edwards said. Her body was found in her crib.

"I believe the 8 year-old is going to require some intense counseling for the next several years," Edwards said. "It's gonna take some extreme intervention."

Smith, who is also co-director of the Southern Juvenile Defender Center, said she believes there "are going to be very serious questions about whether an 8-year-old has the rational capacity for the proceedings against him."

"They're gonna take a real look at whether maybe this is more a matter of parental culpability than child culpability," Smith said.

Kim Dvorchak, executive director of the National Juvenile Defense Center, agreed.

"Children themselves are not really designed for a court system, and our court system — even our juvenile court systems — are not designed for very young children," Dvorchak said.

Katerra Lewis' Facebook profile photo Tuesday was an image of Kelci that had been printed on the back of a shirt. Another photo posted to her page showed that a fish fry fundraiser had been planned for Oct. 17 to cover Kelci's funeral costs.

Court documents filed in June show that a judge ordered $388 for child-support payments to be withheld from the monthly income of a man identified as Timothy D. Pope. No one responded to messages left at phone numbers listed for Pope.

Katerra Lewis has posted $15,000 bond and is expected to appear in court Nov. 30, according to court documents.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-11-11

[lee b]

The mother should be beaten to death for leaving them ! sorry !

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

six kids, the oldest 8 years old and she leaves them alone to go whoring at a night club? Absolutely disgusting.

She deserves to be thrown in jail, sterilized and left to rot.

All of these kids will have a very hard life ahead of them (although with a mother like that it seems they already had a very hard life).

If there is a silver lining to this at least the children will hopefully be taken away and put into better homes and will receive counselling for many years to come.

This is a good example of why there is so much wrong with this world, when mother can have so little responsibility for the children she is raising.

Might be a great argument for free birth control as well. What is a pig like that doing having 6 kids that she can't take care of either?

[phantomfiddler]

Too many computer games ! I predict a rising number of bizarre cases of violence from children and adolescents who appear to spend most of their free time vaporising enemies on screen

[retarius]

I read about this in the NY Times. Apparently the prosecutors want to try the eight year old as an adult and seek the death penalty.

[BuaBS]

I read about this in the NY Times. Apparently the prosecutors want to try the eight year old as an adult and seek the death penalty.

And rightly so.

[mrfill]

I read about this in the NY Times. Apparently the prosecutors want to try the eight year old as an adult and seek the death penalty.

Only a very sick society would even consider that, let alone go ahead with it.

[nemrut]

Incidents like this are at the root of the problem in US society - culture of violence that is not only condoned but encouraged at a young age.

[Happy Grumpy]

I'm guessing that they are black, and the child will be convicted of murder and sentenced to LWOP, as America does to so many other children.

what a wonderful World....

[Trouble]

Another situation where a low life scumbag has a child she can't care for. She was staying at the place where the child died waiting for Section 8 housing. She and the other girl who's place she was staying left 4 or 5 children top age 8 while they went out to a club. Court was trying to force the father to pay child support. So totally dysfunctional family situation (probably for both women). If only there was a way to fix these types so they could not have children. Maybe an IQ test before being allowed to have children would be a good thing.

Edited November 11, 2015 by Trouble

[F4UCorsair]

Maybe the mother should have been beaten to death? Six kids, one only a year old, left alone while the mother went clubbing!! The mother can post $15K bond but having a fish fry fund raiser for funeral costs??

Time for psychological, Iintelligenge, and suitabity testing before being permitted to reproduce. No pass, no kids........... mandatory sterilization.

Edited November 11, 2015 by F4UCorsair

[Keesters]

The USA must have some very strange laws if eight year old children can be charged with murder.

The only person directly responsible for the toddlers death is the Mother, who it seems, prefers "clubbing" over ensuring the safety and well being of young children.

The child should be taken into care not prosecuted.

8 years old is old enough to know that beating a child to death is wrong. Child is responsible. Mother is too for failure to properly supervise her child and perhaps accessory to murder or manslaughter would be appropriate charges for her.

[TheKnave]

In her grief, the mother had the presence of mind to raise $1000 in a GoFundMe campaign (for the funeral, of course), before it was shut down...

All lives matter.

[Usernames]

It's a cultural Thang. You all just don't understand.

[Scott]

A particularly off-topic post has been removed.

[Chicog]

I'm guessing that they are black, and the child will be convicted of murder and sentenced to LWOP, as America does to so many other children.

what a wonderful World....

That was a lucky guess eh?

[Linky]

Something very very wrong with a society that considers it acceptable to charge an 8 year old with murder and consider the death penalty appropriate.

[farangmick]

Maybe the mother should have been beaten to death? Six kids, one only a year old, left alone while the mother went clubbing!! The mother can post $15K bond but having a fish fry fund raiser for funeral costs??

Time for psychological, Iintelligenge, and suitabity testing before being permitted to reproduce. No pass, no kids........... mandatory sterilization.

Probably a bail bondsman put up the money.

[farangmick]

I'm guessing that they are black, and the child will be convicted of murder and sentenced to LWOP, as America does to so many other children.

what a wonderful World....

That was a lucky guess eh?

What a beast. How drunk would you have to be to impregnate that?

[copa8]

Another situation where a low life scumbag has a child she can't care for. She was staying at the place where the child died waiting for Section 8 housing. She and the other girl who's place she was staying left 4 or 5 children top age 8 while they went out to a club. Court was trying to force the father to pay child support. So totally dysfunctional family situation (probably for both women). If only there was a way to fix these types so they could not have children. Maybe an IQ test before being allowed to have children would be a good thing.

Welfare kids.

[copa8]

I'm guessing that they are black, and the child will be convicted of murder and sentenced to LWOP, as America does to so many other children.

what a wonderful World....

That was a lucky guess eh?

What a beast. How drunk would you have to be to impregnate that?

Dag...farangmick?!? Halloween is over already. No need to scare people like this. Nearly barfed out my breakfast.

Edited November 13, 2015 by copa8

[Andaman Al]

I assume then that the USA will permit the age of consent to be lowered to 8 years old as clearly children are now expected to come under the same laws as, and be treated like adults. I can imagine the owners of the local prison for profit rubbing their hands together as they see the boy as a 70 year investment at 150K $ a year. Just how f****d up does a society get when they want to try an 8 year old for murder with the death penalty, I would LOVE to see the USA push that one through and then ever have the balls to complain about any other nations Human Rights abuses. As for the mindset of the poster in post number 9 and the two that liked the post we are on completely different levels of civilisation.

Check out some of the shocking stories here. Children jailed in the states LWOP for being present when someone else takes a gun and shoots someone. Because the child was there, they are charged with 'Felony Murder' even though they took no part in the murder and sentenced to LWOP.

http://america.aljazeera.com/features/2014/1/sentenced-young-thestoryoflifewithoutparoleforjuvenileoffenders.html

There are around 2500 children sentenced to LWOP in the USA all under 16 and the youngest so far 11 years old. How can you not even consider reforming someone who is aged 11? It is total total madness.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Andaman Al

[up2u2]

A symptom of a broken society. The solution: Execute an eight year old boy.

I just wonder at what point a society steps back and thinks 'is there a better way to do things'?

"god bless america"? I very much doubt one would.

[chuckd]

The boy will not be executed.

He has been placed in the care of the Child Welfare Agency and will be counselled and treated as an 8 year old child. His case is to be handled by the family court system of Alabama and will not entail a criminal trial.

His mother has been charged with manslaughter and will very likely spend some time in prison.

The hysterics can be dialed back.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/birmingham-alabama-boy-kills-toddler-after-moms-go-club-cops-n461231

[Andaman Al]

The boy will not be executed.

He has been placed in the care of the Child Welfare Agency and will be counselled and treated as an 8 year old child. His case is to be handled by the family court system of Alabama and will not entail a criminal trial.

His mother has been charged with manslaughter and will very likely spend some time in prison.

The hysterics can be dialed back.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/birmingham-alabama-boy-kills-toddler-after-moms-go-club-cops-n461231

To be fair Chuckd it was not hysterics that saw the boy of 11 yrs jailed for life without parole. The USA is the only country in the world that sentences children to life without parole. Many of them in jail now until they die on Felony Murder charges - They didn't even commit a murder - they were just there. Lets see what happens eh!

[chuckd]

The boy will not be executed.

He has been placed in the care of the Child Welfare Agency and will be counselled and treated as an 8 year old child. His case is to be handled by the family court system of Alabama and will not entail a criminal trial.

His mother has been charged with manslaughter and will very likely spend some time in prison.

The hysterics can be dialed back.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/birmingham-alabama-boy-kills-toddler-after-moms-go-club-cops-n461231

To be fair Chuckd it was not hysterics that saw the boy of 11 yrs jailed for life without parole. The USA is the only country in the world that sentences children to life without parole. Many of them in jail now until they die on Felony Murder charges - They didn't even commit a murder - they were just there. Lets see what happens eh!

How about a link to the 11 year old sentenced to life. I would like to read up on the case.

Links to some of the others would be helpful as well.

[Andaman Al]

The boy will not be executed.

He has been placed in the care of the Child Welfare Agency and will be counselled and treated as an 8 year old child. His case is to be handled by the family court system of Alabama and will not entail a criminal trial.

His mother has been charged with manslaughter and will very likely spend some time in prison.

The hysterics can be dialed back.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/birmingham-alabama-boy-kills-toddler-after-moms-go-club-cops-n461231

To be fair Chuckd it was not hysterics that saw the boy of 11 yrs jailed for life without parole. The USA is the only country in the world that sentences children to life without parole. Many of them in jail now until they die on Felony Murder charges - They didn't even commit a murder - they were just there. Lets see what happens eh!

How about a link to the 11 year old sentenced to life. I would like to read up on the case.

Links to some of the others would be helpful as well.

Now that is very lazy. Just google or youtube and fill your boots. Enough to read and watch up on cases all day.