8 Year Old Felon?
Why is an 8 year old black male child being charged with FELONY ASSAULT for fighting in class and hitting his teacher? While I don’t condone his actions, I certainly think it is absolutely ludicrous to charge this child with a felony. If a teacher cannot control an eight year old child, she/he needs to find another profession. Deshawn needed some tough disciplinary actions taken against him – not a felony charges.
An eight-year-old Florida boy is about to get a first hand lesson in criminal justice.
The second grader was arrested for allegedly punching his teacher in the face.
An argument over crayons in the classroom ended inside a patrol car for second grader Deshawn Williams.
His wrists were in handcuffs and his teacher was badly bruised.
“He gets very upset and he loves to hit,” said Deshawn’s grandmother Dorothy Williams.
Dorothy says Deshawn often throws tantrums and gets physical, but never with adults.
At four feet tall and weighing only 70 pounds Deshawn may not appear threatening, yet he admits his tantrum went too far. source
Just what the hell is going on in our society that we would turn babies over to the criminal justice system?
The fact that he can admit that “his tantrum went to far” is a clear statement that he was aware of what he was doing. Now, while I can not stand by a felony assault charge against an 8-year old, I am not too sure that I do not blame the results. And more than him being punished in such a way, so should his parents/guardian for most likely knowing this kid has a history of violence,
AJ, it’s always as cut and dry as you may think. My masters’ degree is in speech/language pathology. I’ve seen some eight year olds have to be removed from schools and put in special programs for the protection of other children and staff. These children, though young, can often be quite dangerous and I’m speaking from what I have seen.
Correction: It’s NOT always as cut and dry as you may think.
I have no doubt that an 8 year old can be dangerous and in some cases require special education, however I think the solution is to provide the required treatment. I don’t think the criminal justice system is the place for these matters.
I don’t know what to say! I just left another blog that was talking about a 7 year old who stole grandma’s car to go joy riding because he was made at his mother! He said being bad is fun and he wanted to do “Hoodrat things”!
I don’t even know what to say about these kids…
WTH!?!!! The adults in these children’s lives are FAILING!! A community that allows an 8-yr old to be charged with a felony is FAILING!!
I’ve come here everyday since you posted this and read it…and I still don’t know what to say…
I saw the interview with the 7 year old that took the car for a joyride…let’s just say he’ll be in juvie soon…
They just want us locked up. I don’t know who they are, but I know they are using the system to do it. There is no way an eight year old child she be charged as an adult for anything!
I agree with MGV. Any excuse will do to lock us up, taser us, or kill us with 50 bullets.
If the parents won’t discipline and raise the child right, the criminal justice system is there to do the job mom and dad didn’t do, and they’re not going to be as nice.
Forget the excuse of “they just want to lock us up” that’s a load of bull and those who are blaming things on that need their heads examined – They wouldn’t have locked the kid up if the kid didn’t haul off and sock his teacher several times in the face, hit other students and throw chairs all over the place, ENDANGERING every child in the room. ASSAULT IS A FELONY. That’s what the boy did. They wouldn’t have locked the kid up if the parents taught the kid that violence is not good and that he shouldn’t resort to violence. But wait, the quotes were from grandma, not mom or dad, so where is mom and dad? And grandma’s saying that if her little demon grandchild overpowered the teacher (who isn’t allowed to TOUCH the child lest she be charged with a felony) enough to punch her then the teacher shouldn’t be a teacher!???!?? SINCE WHEN WAS “BE ABLE TO TAKE A PUNCH” PART OF THE JOB DESCRIPTION FOR 2ND GRADE TEACHER?!!!?!?! What kind of fool does this boy have for a caretaker? He must have one of those 30 year old grandmothers.
Bottom line: if you screw up the family, you screw up the children. I look at his picture and I see an incredibly angry child and that anger comes from the home. No amount of blaming racism is going to fix bad parenting, which is beyond evident in this case. That boy is a future murderer waiting to happen if someone doesn’t intervene.
Bruised from getting punched by an 8 year old???
First of all they need to arrest that grandma, his mamma, and his sperm donor for dereliction of parenting, supervising and discipline.
Then they need to take that boy to get some held and stop trying to criminalize Black youth; which is what this is all about.
And what’s his grandma saying anyway, it was cool before because he was only beating up on other kids? Somebody should bruise her.
Tina, as always is the case when people go off half cocked on such rants, your emotionalism and typing in caps doesn’t substitute for logic and reason.
Nor does it substitute for facts. Like the facts demonstrating Black children are treated tremendously more harshly by the injustice system than whites even when the same crime is committed by perpetrators with similar back grounds: http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/black-teens-six-times-more-likely-to-be-sentenced-to-jail-than-white-teens/
The injustice system is not the place to deal with this problem. Making an 8 year old out to be the same thing as an adult is ludicrous. You need to examine some facts, and then examine your morals.
Another fact that you disregard is the one where Assault is not automatically a felony as you attempt to perpetrate with your caps typing, as if loud makes you right.
Tina,
I’d have to disagree – no way should any child – black or white be charged with a felony at the age of 8.
Where I live assault is always considered a felony – I assumed that’s how it was everywhere. I may be wrong. As a teacher who has been threatened with bodily harm and had colleagues injured by students to necessitate medical intervention I have a different view point than others do when it comes to violent students period. As a person who doesn’t always jump towards racism, I have a different viewpoint as well. As a person who believes in people being responsible for their actions, I have a different view point. I am more disgusted with his caretakers than the kid. I feel sorry for the kid. Will the felony charges stick? I’d be surprised if they did. Should he have been arrested and charged? Without a doubt – my opinion.
I don’t expect anyone here to agree with my feelings on the subject of violence towards teachers by students. But that won’t stop me from voicing my opinion when I feel strongly. EVEN IF IT MEANS I USE CAPS every now and again Yobachi. *grin* While you may be right about the assault thing, prove me wrong on the requirements for being a teacher please, or that the child’s behavior was endangering everyone in the room. And please state where my facts on the reported case were wrong, because you imply that nothing I said was factual and therefore should not be taken seriously. It’s one thing to not like what I say (my opinions), another to try to discredit without any proof. But I do like your opinion on the boy’s parents and grandmother, even though it would probably cause the kid (and whatever other kids are in their custody) to go into foster care, which might end up being worse for them than being with grandma.
I posted this very article…and as an educator in the inner-city, please believe…if I am struck by a student…he/she WILL be charged!!! It is not my job to be assaulted at work, or PHYSICALLY control students…I am there to TEACH!!!!
At some point, PARENTS will need to take RESPONSIBILITY for their children and DISCIPLINE them at home!!!!!!
Another thing that I think many people are missing here is that Deshawn was enrolled in a Special Education school…so I posed a question: Should that be cause for exception?
If I recall correctly, Jolita Berry’s attacker was NOT arrested…she DESERVED to be, and race/gender has NOTHING to do with it!
Ms. Friendly
http://www.msfriendly.wordpress.com