Just keep in mind that Justice may be blind, but in most cases, she's also a Dumbass swathed in red tape.

What has our society come to that they would be trying these children as adults? They could get 25 years to life in prison. It matters not whether they are guilty or not, they certainly were influenced by Chavis. How could anyone think that Alex King was old enough to be responsible for his actions. I can only hope that the jury has more sense than the prosecutors. Our society has become too set on retribution.

If found guilty these two boys will spend LIFE in prison without parol.

No way to ever be set free.

There is always hope, but Florida has one of the most backward department of corrections in the country.

In politics and prisons the rules are constantly changing.

Just recently, the minimum sentence has come under fire in many political circles.

Bob Barr, the Senator from Georgia, one of the authors of the so-called "minimum mandatory sentencing" law for the federal drug laws, lost his re-election bid in the primary. Looks like the federal law is on the verge of being changed or overturned.

Sooner or later the Florida prisons will be reformed.

Let's pray for sooner. Like I said, there is always hope if they do not execute them.

A-1

A Florida jury found two boys guilty of second-degree murder for the fatal bludgeoning of their father, declining to convict them of first-degree murder. The verdict spares Alex King, 13, and Derek King, 14, mandatory sentences of life behind bars.

The young brothers were tried as adults for the Nov. 25, 2001, murder of Terry Lee King, 40. While state law dictates a mandatory life sentence without parole for those convicted of first-degree, or premeditated, murder, it is up to the discretion of the judge to determine an appropriate sentence for second-degree murder. Following a sentencing hearing slated for next month, Judge Frank Bell could even choose to sentence both boys as juveniles.

Neither Alex nor Derek displayed any visible reaction when the verdicts were announced. Their mother, Kelly Marino, who was seated in the courtroom, wiped away tears and held her head in the moments following the verdict.

The jury chose to convict the two of second-degree murder without a weapon. Terry King was bludgeoned with a baseball bat as he slept in a recliner in his home, which was set ablaze following the killing in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence. During the trial, the defense claimed that it was a 40-year-old pedophile they say was molesting Alex King that actually killed Terry King.

Ricky Marvin Chavis, stood trial for premeditated murder prior to the Kings' trial. That verdict was sealed for the duration of the King trial and was expected to be announced later Friday.

The six-member panel, which reached their decision after approximately five hours of deliberations, also convicted the boys of arson.

The day after King's body was discovered, the boys confessed to the crime during interviews with police. But they later changed their story, testifying against Chavis with claims that he was the real killer and that they fabricated confessions in order to protect him.

Chavis, however, contended that the boys committed the murder and that he only learned of the crime when they contacted him after the fact seeking a place to go. He also denies having a sexual relationship with the babyfaced Alex King. He faces a separate charges of molesting Alex and is slated to stand trial next month.

Comprehensive case coverage

Chavis acquitted; brothers guilty

Just 90 minutes after a Florida jury found Derek King, 14, and Alex King, 13,

Erik (imported) wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2002 12:23 pm guilty of second-degree murder

and arson, a judge unsealed another jury's week-old verdict acquitting Ricky Marvin Chavis of the same crime. The brothers face up to life in prison for the death of their father, but will be eligible for parole one day. Chavis, a convicted pedophile, still faces trial for allegations he sexually abused Alex and tried to help coverup the murder of his longtime friend.

I have followed this case from the other side of the Atlantic.

To be blunt, it reveals the legal system of the USA, or at least Florida, to be not only unjust but also ridiculous and, moreover, barbaric, undermining your nation's frequent condemnation of human rights abuses elsewhere.

Boys, who were 12 & 13 at the time of the alleged crime, to be tried & sentenced as adults, with the (6-person!?!) jury convicting on spurious grounds, is beyond belief in the 21st century!

PUEROS

I've refrained from posting on this issue, because just thinking about it literally makes me ill. I have, however, followed it in the news and I am stunned that these six people who 'served' as a jury could have reached the insane verdict that they did.

Does no one else see the flaws in this gross miscarriage of justice?

Were these boys tried and judged by a panel of their peers? No. In my book, peers of teenage boys are other teenagers. Were any of the jury members under 18, or even close to the King brothers' ages? No.

The boys were being tried for the exact same crime that the alleged pedophile who had sex with Alex was already tried for. Hello there, legal system, let's say ol' Fred gets murdered and we'll try half the town for it until we get the one we're after, or a suitable scapegoat? Hardly just.

Innocent until proven guilty? From what I saw in media, if I were treat 'my' innocent boys as these boys were treated, then "I" would be arrested for child abuse. Ok, this boy is innocent ... but let's keep him locked up and in chains until we can prove (and oh we want to prove it so bad!) that he's NOT!

Tried as adults - fine. Then let him vote, smoke, drink, drive and have sex if he wishes, without fear of prosecution. If a 12 year old can be tried as adult, then he should be given the rights and privileges of all adults. Let's get that legislation rolling, now, George & Jeb ... set that age for 'tried as an adult', God, think of the votes you'd pick up.

Does anyone involved in this case have kids? Does anyone in this case KNOW kids? This is obviously a cut-and-dried scenario of the adult (tried and found not guilty) doing something that he shouldn't have done and setting those boys up to take the fall for it. And it worked. The idiots in the legal system fell for it, hook line and sinker! He's committed the perfect crime, almost, and these two boys will suffer for his actions. No doubt, for the rest of their lives. It should be painfully obvious that he coerced them into killing their father and setting the house on fire. I've had first-hand experience with stuff like this, folks, and I can tell ya's that it's not hard to get a little kid to do just what you want him to do in an abusive situation. If my stepdad had told me to kill someone and threatened me with what this monster obviously told these boys, then I'd have done it, in a heartbeat.

In fact, I'll confess to covering things up for him RIGHT NOW, because I was TERRIFIED of him. The sway and hold that a perceived monster (from the boys' standpoint) can hold over that boy is incredible. I know.

And last but not least, does ANYONE see the main, the glaring, the overly fucking HUGE problem with this whole case? The FAMILY FRIEND who is now going to be tried for having sex with a minor, but wait ... that minor was tried as an adult ... so didn't he have sex with an adult then?? Or perhaps the 'tried as an adult thing' is analogous to his 18th birthday in the legal system? Well, back to the adult rights thing again .....

In short, it would be kinder to execute these boys than to lock them away for even 20 years. Their lives are over, and I've since stopped following this case since the verdict came down.

In the end, what goes around comes around. Pity there's no one in Florida with any sense at all. First the Presidential election fiasco, and now this. Kick Florida OUT of the nation, now. That whole place is more trouble than it's worth. Of course, it's run by a Bush ... enough said.

But what about the other side of the issue?

Do any of you think there's a chance that these boys committed murder of their own free will and deserve to be locked away for the rest of their lives?

I believe it's possible.

I have two stepsons. They are now a few years older than these Florida kids were, but when they were 11 and 12 one of them tried to cave in his mother's and my head with a fireplace poker just because we wouldn't buy him fish and chips for dinner. After we disarmed him, he ran to a neighborhood Safeway and told them that his mother and I were sexually abusing him & beating him.

To this day, we can't walk into that store without dirty looks from the staff. It's useless to try to explain it to them, because 'everybody knows' that kids don't make up stories like that.

And if the little SOB had succeeded in killing either one of us, I would feel a lot better knowing he was going to be tried as an adult and get a long jail sentence, rather than spend a couple years in a juvenile detention place at best.