Teen Crime and Punishment

I stumbled into this news article from the Detroit Free Press about a 14 year-old boy who recently shot and killed his mother, and I couldn't help but think of our prior class discussions regarding crimes committed by teens without fully realizing the consequences, the issue of whether teens should be tried as adults, as well as possible complications of an underdeveloped teenage brain.  http://www.freep.com/article/C4/20120308/NEWS01/303080002/Teen-accused-of-killing-mother-told-police-he-was-tired-of-being-called-names-?odyssey=nav%7Chead

The events right before the crime do not seem to have been out of the ordinary. Joshua's mother had asked him to retrieve medication for her--she was on dialysis for kidney failure and had to take blood pressure meds--but he ignored her and continued watching TV, so she told him, "You ain't going to be nothing." He went upstairs to his room, but she told him to come out, so he retrieved the gun from a locked office, went downstairs, and killed her. His mother's fiance, Chika Lewis, was in the home and heard the gunshots. Apparently Joshua fired one or two shots, paused as his mother probably fell to the ground, and then fired another six shots...yet he claims he didn't intend to kill her. Joshua even aimed the gun at Lewis, but only didn't shoot because Lewis was holding Joshua's 5 year-old sister.

It seems like Joshua decided to shoot his mother on a whim, without even thinking about the possible consequences. Whether he felt an immediate sense of satisfaction after firing the first bullet, or whether he simply became scared and didn't know what else to do during that brief moment, it is unclear why he continued to shoot the gun. However, I feel like his actions are largely caused by his brain. At 14, he probably lacks many vital problem solving and decision-making skills, which may have caused him to overreact to his mother's criticism of his actions. With this overreaction, he quickly decided that one way to fix things would be to punish--or hurt--her. Therefore, he grabbed the gun and shot her, but he did not intend to kill her. I feel like he either felt numbness as he carried out the murder, not realizing the full extent of what he was doing, or he felt a small amount of relief after hurting her so he continued to hurt her, again, not realizing how badly he was actually injuring her.

Controversially, Joshua is being tried as an adult and he faces life without parole if convicted. Regardless of the fact that he single-handedly murdered an innocent woman, and is fully aware that his actions were illegal, he is still a young teenager in the process of developing. His actions may have been caused by his brain development, but he is still a child who may finish his development and like the rest of his life in a jail cell. I believe he should at least have the chance of parole, even if it's twenty or thirty years from now.

I apologize for the length of this, but I really found this article interesting and debatable, much like the few cases we discussed in class like this. So, I just want to know how you guys feel about this individual case. What caused Joshua to murder his mother, and almost shoot his mother's fiance? How much of his actions would you contribute to his brain development? Do you believe he should be tried as an adult, or should his punishment be lessened a bit since he is only 14 years old?