The same night Tampa police announced that officers had arrested a 14-year-old boy in a Ybor City shooting that killed two people, Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez said her office would charge him as an adult.
- “When you shoot and kill an innocent person, your age does not matter,” Lopez said during a news conference Dec. 6 , five weeks after the Halloween weekend shooting.
Why it matters: The charging decision comes amid a longstanding debate in Florida , and nationwide , about what to do when children are accused of the most heinous crimes.
- The teen in the Ybor case, whom Axios is not naming because of his age, is facing several charges, including second-degree murder in the death of 20-year-old Harrison Boonstoppel. The charge is punishable by up to life in prison.
State of play: Prosecutors have long taken the “adult crime, adult time” approach, seeing the adult criminal justice system as the answer. The juvenile justice system, with its heavy focus on treatment and rehabilitation, isn’t built for serious crimes, they say.