Ken Schram: Resist knee-jerk decision on justice
SEATTLE -- I think something is being deliberately ignored or overlooked.
The 16-year-old girl that authorities say drowned her infant son in a toilet and then threw the body into the garbage has been charged as an adult with first degree murder.
The little boy's body was found earlier this week after authorities sifted through 60 tons of trash at a dump site near Tacoma.
Everything about this case screams tragedy.
I can't help but wonder why the Clallam County prosecutor was so quick to decide that Lauryn Louise Last should be tried as an adult.
The father of the dead infant is described as a man in his 30's; a sex offender said to be a friend of the girl's mom while the teen was living with her in Colorado.
How old was the girl when the man started having sex with her?
Did she endure years of sexual abuse and rape?
What other kind of emotional and physical abuse might she have been forced to live with?
I'm not suggesting that Lauryn Louise Last shouldn't be held accountable if she killed her new born baby, but I am questioning whether it's appropriate that she go into court as an adult.
Prosecutors need to examine the circumstances of this little girl's traumatic life more closely before knee-jerking a decision on justice.
Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. Or, you can e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com
The 16-year-old girl that authorities say drowned her infant son in a toilet and then threw the body into the garbage has been charged as an adult with first degree murder.
The little boy's body was found earlier this week after authorities sifted through 60 tons of trash at a dump site near Tacoma.
Everything about this case screams tragedy.
I can't help but wonder why the Clallam County prosecutor was so quick to decide that Lauryn Louise Last should be tried as an adult.
The father of the dead infant is described as a man in his 30's; a sex offender said to be a friend of the girl's mom while the teen was living with her in Colorado.
How old was the girl when the man started having sex with her?
Did she endure years of sexual abuse and rape?
What other kind of emotional and physical abuse might she have been forced to live with?
I'm not suggesting that Lauryn Louise Last shouldn't be held accountable if she killed her new born baby, but I am questioning whether it's appropriate that she go into court as an adult.
Prosecutors need to examine the circumstances of this little girl's traumatic life more closely before knee-jerking a decision on justice.
Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. Or, you can e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com