Alabama Officials Charge 8-Year-Old Boy With Murder

Katerra Lewis, mother of Kelci Lewis (image courtesy Birmingham Police Department courtesy WBRC)
Katerra Lewis, mother of Kelci Lewis (image courtesy Birmingham Police Department courtesy WBRC)

At times, criminal justice in the Deep South can charitably be described as a scandal. Even by those standards, a case in Alabama is shaping up to be one of the biggest outrages to come out of that region in recent memory. Officials in Birmingham have charged an eight-year-old boy with beating a one-year-old playmate to death. However, they seem to be overlooking the real crime here–that neither child’s mother could be bothered to check on their kids after a night of clubbing.

Katerra Lewis was staying with a close friend of hers while waiting for Section 8 housing. On the night of October 10, Lewis and her roommate went clubbing in Birmingham. They left the roommate’s eight-year-old son in charge of five other kids, ranging in age from one year old to seven years old. Sometime that night, the youngest child, one-year-old Kelci Lewis–Katerra’s daughter–started crying. The eight-year-old lost his temper and, in the words of Birmingham police spokesman Sean Edwards, “recklessly, viciously” beat her.

Lewis and her roommate didn’t come home until 2 a.m. the next morning–but, incredibly, didn’t bother to check on the children. When Lewis finally checked on Kelci sometime around 10:45 that morning, she found her daughter unresponsive. Kelci was rushed to Children’s of Alabama, but by then it was far too late. She was pronounced dead at 11 a.m.–only six months after her first birthday. All of the kids who were in the home are now in the custody of the state Department of Human Resources.

According to the Jefferson County Coroner, Kelci died from blunt-force trauma to her head and internal organs. Only 24 hours after her death, officials ruled it a homicide. Police were able to reconstruct the night’s events with the help of the six-year-old. The child’s account matched up very closely with Kelci’s injuries. Even veteran cops are pretty shaken up by this. Police chief A. C. Roper said he’s never seen anything like this in 30 years in law enforcement, and Edwards added that no amount of training prepares you for a case like this.

Lewis surrendered to Birmingham police on Tuesday, and was charged with manslaughter; she was released on $15,000 bond. The next day, police announced that the boy had been charged with murder. He is believed to be the youngest person in memory to be charged with murder in Jefferson County, though local criminal attorney Clayton Tartt doesn’t think he will be tried as an adult. If you’re wondering how this is possible, there is no minimum age for prosecution in Alabama.

Edwards said that police are wondering how a little boy could have “that much evil in his heart.” In a colossal understatement, he thinks the boy is going to need “some extreme intervention” for a very long time, including several years of counseling. Edwards had some pretty harsh words for Lewis, saying that her behavior was “totally unacceptable.”

As I see it, though, it is equally unacceptable that this little boy is facing charges at all. The real crime is that neither mother thought to check on those kids when they came home. Had they done so, there’s a pretty good chance that Kelci would still be alive.

It’s what makes a statement by Lewis’ attorney, Emory Anthony, particularly incomprehensible. Anthony says that you can’t charge someone with manslaughter for the dangerous actions of another. But Anthony admitted that death resulting from reckless acts is manslaughter–and if not checking on your kids for eight hours isn’t manslaughter, what is? Equally incomprehensible is that the boy’s mother isn’t facing any charges at all–at least for now.

Tobie Smith, director of the Southern Juvenile Defender Center, thinks that officials will almost certainly ask whether this is “a matter of parental culpability than child culpability.” If that’s the case, then there’s really no defensible reason for ANY further proceedings against this boy. This boy needs counseling, not criminal charges. Given that this whole situation happened because of the gross irresponsibility of his mother and her roommate, even juvenile-level proceedings would not be credible.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.