By the time Thomas White is sentenced, almost three years will have passed since his arrest.
He has gone from being a 13-year-old middle-school student to a 16-year-old inmate who’s fate has hung in limbo too long.
We are unwavering in our opinion that White must be held accountable for his actions inside Memorial Middle School on Oct. 9, 2006.
White is accused of firing the rifle once into the ceiling of a school hallway, pointing the weapon at an assistant superintendent and the school principal, and attempting to shoot the latter.
Police say the gun jammed after the firing of a single round into the ceiling because of an improperly seated ammunition clip. The school principal later ushered him out of the building.
White, last week, pleaded guilty to assault charges and now will be considered for the state’s dual jurisdiction program as part of a pending plea agreement with the Jasper County Prosecutor’s office.
Now, he’s either looking at spending time in the dual-jurisdiction program, where he can receive an education, vocational training and counseling, or serving a sentence in an adult prison.
Or, he could be sentenced to spend time in an adult prison for no more than 15 years.
Under the first option, White, if he completes the program successfully, could be out on probation by the time he turns 21. Counting the almost three years he’s been in jail, White would serve about eight years.
It’s now up to the state’s Division of Youth Services to assess White’s fate before his September sentencing.
We have said before and still believe the dual-jurisdiction is White’s only hope of being able to return to live a normal life. Putting him in a state prison does neither him nor society any good.
Once this case is put to rest, we strongly recommend a review by our local courts system to determine a better way to handle a juvenile offender certified to stand trial as an adult.
Opinion
In our view: Justice moves too slowly
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