The case involved here is upsetting enough to merit consideration of adult time. It appears to have been a carefully planned assault. Yet even with the most abhorrent crimes, the decision on how to handle a young suspect should not be cast in stone in the first few days.
State law allows the prosecutor, with no review by a judge, to file adult charges in circuit court.
After that, there is no chance of returning to the juvenile system, no matter what subsequent investigations may reveal. He is charged with murdering his teacher a year ago, when he was 13, and could be sent to prison for life. There' s no denying that children commit some terrible crimes. But to give up on the hope of rehabilitation before a child turns 16 says more about the hard-heartedness of adults, especially prosecutors, than of children.