New hearing ordered for Lawrence County boy charged in murders

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

A divided state appeals court has decided that a western Pennsylvania boy who was 11 when he was charged with killing his father’s pregnant fianc e was denied his constitutional right against self- incrimination when a county court rejected arguments that he should be tried as a juvenile.

A Lawrence County judge a year ago refused to move Jordan Brown’s case to juvenile court. Brown, who is now 13, is charged with shooting Kenzie Marie Houk, 26, with a 20-gauge shotgun as she slept in their New Galilee farmhouse in February 2009, killing Houk and her unborn son. He could face life in prison if convicted as an adult but would be freed by age 21 if tried in juvenile court.

The judge based his decision to try Brown as an adult largely on the boy’s refusal to take responsibility for the crime, which both defense and prosecution psychologists testified is necessary for rehabilitation, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Lourdes Rosado of the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center argued that Brown’s Fifth Amendment protections were violated since he was being required to say he was remorseful for something that he maintains he did not do.

On Friday, Superior Court Judges Judith Olson and Cheryl Lynn Allen agreed that the ruling violated Brown’s constitutional right against self-incrimination, because in order to accept responsibility, Brown “would necessarily have to admit guilt and incriminate himself.”

Judge Robert Colville dissented, saying there was no evidence that Brown ever sought to invoke his right against self-incrimination. He said Brown’s attorney was present when he was questioned by a psychiatrist hired by the state, and the attorney never made such an objection even though any questions the psychiatrist asked Brown “regarding his actions on the day of the shooting had the potential to elicit incriminating answers.”