A Eugene teen accused of killing a sleeping homeless man will be the first such defendant in over two decades to be tried in the juvenile system rather than a normal court. Last year’s Senate Bill 1008 modified a 1994 law which required that anyone 15 or older charged with certain felonies be automatically tried as an adult.
What the defendant is accused of: This systemic change can make the process difficult for victims. The teen in question, Jonathan Daniel Kirkpatrick, is alleged to have beaten 56-year-old Ovid Neal to death with a rock for $11. Neal’s sister, who attended the determination hearing, said that testimony revealed that Kirkpatrick may have assaulted another homeless man a day previous to the attack on her brother, and also that the boy’s father said that he was beaten by his son and afraid of him. To the aggrieved, the juvenile system may be more traumatic than an adult trial because it appears to be coddling the perpetrator and frustrating the victim’s own rights.
Senate focused on reforming youth: The new law aims to keep younger teens in the more nurturing juvenile system, which has its own correctional facilities geared to rehabilitation rather than punishment. The system is also less in the public eye. Court records remain sealed, and proceedings are only attended by the child, parents, officers of the court, and witnesses. This is done to protect the juvenile, both during the trial and later in life, so that a juvenile sentence does not impinge on the reformed adult’s prospects.
There are 30 cases waiting to be tried under the new law. Though this one will be in Lane county, the majority are in Multnomah.
By Peter Bask
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