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Aug. 4th, 2005 07:44 am
Maribel Cuevas
First, I've re-enabled Anonymous posting, and decided to just be amused by any wankery that results. Anyone who'd insult me anonymously isn't worth a piss, anyway.
Second, for those still interested (as I have been) in the case of the Fresno police who seemed to overreact in the arrest of an eleven year-old girl who threw a rock at another kid:
A deal has been reached to avoid a felony trial.
I find some of the allegations in this article interesting:
Ok, even a 1 and 1/2 inch cut is nothing to sneeze at. And I find Maribel's claim that the rock "accidentally" flew from her hand to be pretty unlikely. I think she meant to throw it, but I think she probably didn't mean to really harm the kid -- as a child of that age, I sometimes got angry and threw things at my siblings, or hit them, and I never intended to really hurt them, but sometimes I did. I think she regretted it immediately. Actually hurting him was accidental, and from that to "accidentally throwing the rock in the first place" isn't a huge logical gap for a kid of that age.
As for the police ... well, the report is verifiable, so I have no reason to think the article lies on that score, but I'm also willing to chalk up the errors to bad communication between languages, though it seems to me that if I was a cop, I'd get a cop who spoke Spanish to that scene before taking a report from someone whose English is broken and may not comprehend my questions totally. I know that was standard practice in Napa when I was living there. I'd also keep in mind that kids exaggerate, especially in a "us vs. them" situation.
So I still think the cops overreacted, and I think the DA overreacted. Hopefully they'll learn from the experience. Unlike situations with older suspects, they can afford to stop and think when it's just a bunch of pre-pubescent kids. Of course, that's easy for me to say, since I'm not out there with them. Bottom line? I'm glad this has turned out this well.
Second, for those still interested (as I have been) in the case of the Fresno police who seemed to overreact in the arrest of an eleven year-old girl who threw a rock at another kid:
A deal has been reached to avoid a felony trial.
I find some of the allegations in this article interesting:
Maribel's lawyer, Richard Beshwate, blames part of her treatment on inaccuracies in the initial police report of the incident. The report is weighed by judges, probation officers and the district attorney in deciding a case's disposition.
The police report listed Maribel's age as 13 and said she threw a 5-pound rock at Elijah, whose age was misstated as 6. He is 8. The rock caused a 4- inch gash, the report said.
A report from the hospital where Elijah was taken said the cut was 1 1/2 inches. It required several stitches. After earlier press reports, the police said the rock was actually 2 1/2 pounds. Maribel says the rock that left her hand was much smaller.
Ok, even a 1 and 1/2 inch cut is nothing to sneeze at. And I find Maribel's claim that the rock "accidentally" flew from her hand to be pretty unlikely. I think she meant to throw it, but I think she probably didn't mean to really harm the kid -- as a child of that age, I sometimes got angry and threw things at my siblings, or hit them, and I never intended to really hurt them, but sometimes I did. I think she regretted it immediately. Actually hurting him was accidental, and from that to "accidentally throwing the rock in the first place" isn't a huge logical gap for a kid of that age.
As for the police ... well, the report is verifiable, so I have no reason to think the article lies on that score, but I'm also willing to chalk up the errors to bad communication between languages, though it seems to me that if I was a cop, I'd get a cop who spoke Spanish to that scene before taking a report from someone whose English is broken and may not comprehend my questions totally. I know that was standard practice in Napa when I was living there. I'd also keep in mind that kids exaggerate, especially in a "us vs. them" situation.
So I still think the cops overreacted, and I think the DA overreacted. Hopefully they'll learn from the experience. Unlike situations with older suspects, they can afford to stop and think when it's just a bunch of pre-pubescent kids. Of course, that's easy for me to say, since I'm not out there with them. Bottom line? I'm glad this has turned out this well.