Following is my column for this week's Newton County News:
It won’t be long before the national group that has been supporting Thomas Gregory White begin ripping into the Missouri Supreme Court for its decision to allow Jasper County officials to try White as an adult.
White, you may recall, was 13 years old and a seventh grader at Memorial Middle School in Joplin when he brought an assault rifle into the school, fired a shot into the ceiling and then pointed the weapon at Principal Steve Gilbreth and tried to pull the trigger, according to police accounts. Fortunately, the weapon jammed.
Since that day in October 2006, White, who is now 15, has been sitting in the Jasper County Jail awaiting trial on five charges- two counts of assault and single counts of unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action, and attempted escape.
A Jasper County Circuit Court judge ruled White’s trial should take place in adult court and that decision has brought out the national groups that believe all children should be left behind…that is, not tried for any crime in the adult system.
Front and center among White’s proponents has been Justice for Juveniles, an organization that is consistent with its views. You do have to give them credit for that. Not only does it support Thomas Gregory White, whom fate and a jammed weapon prevented from becoming a murderer, according to police accounts, but it also backs the cause of Charles “Andy” Williams, the teenage killer who murdered two at Santee High School in California.
The organization has ripped the Missouri judicial system over and over, not allowing for any point of view that differs from its own. White has been mistreated, he was too young to understand what he was doing, he was bullied at Memorial and teachers and administrators ignored the problem, they allege, so what else was he going to do?
Over and over, Justice for Juveniles members have lamented White’s lack of an education as he awaits trial…though it has been his lawyers who have delayed the process in their ultimately futile attempt to have the case remanded to juvenile court. Nowhere do they mention that despite the fact that White has been in jail for one year and five months, his lawyers did not request a tutor for their client until earlier this month…and Jasper County Circuit Court Judge David Mouton, who has been depicted as a villain by Justice for Juveniles, almost immediately granted the motion.
While I commend Justice for Juveniles for caring about teenagers like Thomas Gregory White and Charles Williams, I appreciate the fact that others are looking out for the Joplin teenagers who do not solve their problems by bringing guns to school…the same students who might well have become victims.
I teach in a Joplin middle school, though not the one that was terrorized by Thomas Gregory White. I remember the fear that students at South Middle School had the day White took his weapon to Memorial. I cannot even imagine what it was like to be at Memorial during those terrifying moments.
On their website, the members of Juveniles for Justice wrote that I had no business being a teacher since my revulsion at what Thomas White did showed that I did not care about children.
On the contrary, I care enough about children that I do not want their lives to be scarred by someone who knew full well, despite his tender age, that you do not bring a gun to a school and open fire.
And a message to Justice for Juveniles: Don’t place the blame on bullies, uncaring teachers, unsympathetic principals, or the evil Jasper County court system for the problems that face Thomas Gregory White.
He was the one with the gun.
6 comments:
I agree Randy. It is so very sad these days when no one takes responsibility for anything they do. It is always someone else's fault. It speaks poorly of our society that promotes the lack of responsibility for ones actions. Yes he was young but he acted grown up when he brought a gun to school, what would make a young kid even think of that! I don't really want an answer to that I read the news but it sickens me.
It seems so interesting to me that if a 13 yr old juvenile has sex with an 18 yr old adult, even if it is "consensual" the 18yr old faces major criminal charges for actions toward a minor...yet in this case the minor has the ability to make adult decisions and face adult consequences. How can we have it both ways!!! A crime is a crime....an adult is an adult....a child is a child!!
I don't know anything about this group you are talking about but it seems to me that the kid's attorney should not have been the one to have to have gotten him a tutor. Despite being in jail, he is still entitled to an education, which the school district you keep defending failed to provide. By bringing a gun to school, the kid forfeited his right to go to public school, but he did not forefit his right to an education.
Although I agree with Randy that Thomas was the one with the gun, I do not agree with your take on J4J and for what we stand for.
We have never advocated that Thomas go unpunished nor have we ever condoned his actions the day he came to school with a gun. Our members have children and the last thing we would want for our children is to be faced with a distraught human being holding a gun or any other weapon for that matter.
We advocate the fact that children are not adults, including Thomas who was in 7th grade at the time of this incident. We as a society hold children on a different level until they commit a crime. It is hypocritical to school a seveth grader until he is waived to adult court. It is hypocritical that our law will allow this boy to sit idley by with no schooling in a small cell 20 plus hours a day because now he is now deemed an adult even though he is truley still the 7th grade boy waiting for his day in adult court.
J4J is thrilled that Judge Mouton agreed to Thomas's schooling and applaud his decision....finally. It is upsetting that it took this long through hirer courts to get this result which is simply "Schooling for a teenage boy."
We all can point blame at each other for what happened with Thomas and everyone in that school that day. At the end of the day it will fix nothing and we will continue to see children bring guns to school terrorizing our students and staff. What we advocate for is to look at the child as he is and ask our selves why. We all say "What could we have done?" Why don't we find out what can be done and work harder to fix it?
Our judges, prosecutors and defense attorney's are simply doing their jobs by following the law our legislatures created. Laws need to be changed. Every child should have a chance at redemption and we as adults need to work harder at educating our youth on bullying, signs of abuse and prevention. We as adults need to start acting responsibly by getting to the root of the problem, developing more programs for rehabilitation and counseling. We need to act when we see a child in distress, involve ourselves when we hear or see signs of mental, physical or social problems. Children expect that of adults yet we let them down time and time again.
No child is an adult. Warehousing our youth needs to stop. The recidism rate of our youth who are housed in adult prison is outrageous compared to youth housed in juvenile where they finally recieve the services they so desperately need. I find it common sense to comprehend what will come out of adult prison some day....a child housed with hardened criminals with no schooling and no counseling. Common sense tells me we will get a child who grew up learning how to be a better, uneducated criminal as angry coming out as he went in.
Justice For Juveniles are not a bunch of bleeding heart liberals. Our advocating is backed by scientific studies and cold hard facts. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do the math or the homework Mr. Turner. You being a teacher know that.
www.justiceforjuveniles.org
I am with Justice for Juveniles, the advocacy group that Randy Turner likes to write about. If you wish to write about us it would be nice for you to get your information straight.
First of all you say that we "support Thomas Gregory White, but it also backs the cause of Charles "Andy Williams, the teenage killer who murdered two at Santee High School in California." We have never condoned the actions of Thomas White or Charles "Andy" Williams. What we have always said is that Thomas was a 13-year old boy who had been very badly bullied for years. No teacher or administrator intervened. What happened next was a kid who did a desperate thing. He should be held accountable, but it needs to happen within a juvenile court. Thomas is a non-violent child with no brushes with the law.
The state of Missouri's treatment of Thomas is cruel and unusual and the state needs to re-think how it responds to children in crisis.
For the past 1 1/2 years Thomas has been unable to hug his mother or to have any communication with her, other than 1 15 minute visit each week through plexiglass. This is cruel and unusual.
Thomas is merely a suspect at this point. He is still a boy. He should be held in juvenile until his trial. Thomas' treatment is worse than convicted murderers receive. We are supposed to be a civilized society, yet we treat kids very badly. We advocate for change because this is the only logical way to handle these children.
The juvenile justice system was tailor-made for this case. It was created a century ago because attorneys and judges and child welfare professionals realized a difference between an adult and a child. In the 1990's sentiments changed and stiff laws were passed, making it easy for children to find themselves in adult court. Tough on crime legislation was enacted and media hype prevailed. It is more logical to place a child in juvenile where he can receive help, than to warehouse him in an adult facility.
When a student is suspended for 180 days, does the school provide the student with a tutor? I don't think so.
I'm looking at White's case as though he has been suspended from the time that he brought the gun to school.
He choose to bring the gun and he choose to forfeit his education until someone finally said, "Hey, why haven't we been providing an education to this former 6th grader?"
Did White say, "May I please continue to receive an education?" or maybe "I'm sorry for making a very poor decision."
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