MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee community leaders gathered Tuesday morning to voice their concerns over a 10-year-old boy being charged as an adult after admitting to killing his mother.
In the state of Wisconsin, once a child turns 10 and is charged with homicide, the case is sent automatically to adult court.
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"Instead of being treated as a boy, he's being treated as an adult," said Ventae Parrow, a member of All of Us or None.
Local leaders believe that's a flaw within the system and are advocating for this particular case to be heard in juvenile court instead.
"We look at the brain science of adolescences and we need to treat children as exactly who they are, children," said Sharlen Moore, executive director for Urban Underground.
According to a criminal complaint, the boy originally told police he accidentally shot his mom when he was twirling the gun. But the next day, the family called the police with serious concerns. They say the boy told his aunt he was "actually aiming the gun at his mother."
According to detectives, the boy said he took the gun from the safe because he was mad at his mom for waking him up and not allowing him to order a virtual reality headset from Amazon.
The family told the police the boy had quote "rage issues" all his life. The young boy also had concerning behaviors including setting their home furniture on fire six months prior to shooting and killing his mother.
A sibling told police the 10-year-old was meeting with a therapist who gave him a concerning diagnosis.
Sylvester Jackson leads Believers for Change, an organization that advocates for ending mass incarceration.
"How can a 10-year-old help defend himself?" Jackson questioned.
Jackson believes this is a case of severe mental health and has no business being tried in adult court.
"Let's keep this situation where it needs to be, which is juvenile court, and let's get him mental health," Jackson stated.
The 10-year-old has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 60 years in prison.
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In Wisconsin, children 10 and older who are charged and convicted of homicide are typically sent to a juvenile detention facility until they are 17, that's when they go to prison for the remainder of their sentence.
The 10-year-old is due back in court Wednesday afternoon for a status hearing.
