- Joined
- Jul 4, 2011
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- Political Leaning
- Liberal
PORT ORCHARD — The pale 9-year-old walked into the Kitsap County Juvenile Court on Thursday, looking dazed in his orange jumpsuit. There was a television camera in one corner; reporters filled nearly half the seats.Police say that on Wednesday, he took a loaded gun to a Bremerton elementary school, and that it went off in his backpack just before the final bell rang. The routine of third grade — school, homework, play — had changed in a split second.Now a classmate, 8-year-old Amina Kocer-Bowman, lies in intensive care, with a .45-caliber bullet wound to her arm and abdomen. She'll likely be there several more weeks and have several more surgeries, her doctor said.The boy's father, Jason Cochran, 40, sat next to him at the defense table and rubbed his back. The boy burst into tears. His mother, Jamie Chaffin, 34, was not there. Authorities say the boy got the gun from her home, and there's a chance she will face criminal charges.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017582563_bremerton24m.html
I'm the first one here to suggest that there be tighter controls on firearms. This whole thing is sickening. And obviously the Mother will get sued at the very least in a civil suit. But I am at a total loss to understand how prosecuting this 9 year old boy, AND keeping him from his custodial parent is a good idea in the wake of this tragic accident.
Putting a 9 year old boy in jail accomplishes what here?
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