http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/11/us/alabama-boy-murder-charge/index.html
What kind of mom leaves 5 children ages 8 and under alone to go to a club? It’s awful the baby died. I’m glad she was charged with manslaughter. But I don’t think that an 8 year old has the understanding to be charged with murder.
That poor child.
Both mom’s should additionally be charged with child endangerment.
What an idiot prosecutor.
Not that there is any excuse for leaving the children alone, but the article says she went out at 11pm. It is possible that all of the children were in bed and asleep. Still a huge lack of judgement. Terrible for all concerned.
Child endangerment would seem like the right charge to me.
It’s a tragedy. But pretty shocking that an 8 year old would beat a baby (never mind his sister) to death. I admit to not having a ton of experience with kids, but I don’t think that’s something you would expect or plan for with a normal 8 year old.
“Sorry I can’t take my eyes of the kids because one might beat the other to death.” That just doesn’t seem like a thought that would cross the minds of most parents.
In my experience, young children are very soft with babies, love to hold them, and are sort of in awe of them. Beating a crying child is something that this 8 year old must have seen and copied from adult behavior. The mother is being charged with manslaughter. Hopefully the state is removing all her children from her care (assuming she is bailed out).
Until I had close up and personal interaction with my nephew I would never believe that there could be malice or forethought in a child that young. I guarantee someone out there was concerned about that 8 yo. I assume the 8 yo is tried as a juvenile and hopefully will receive services and counseling to help them become a productive adult.
The mom on the other hand? Throw the book at her. Some people shouldn’t be raising children.
He’ll be thrown in a kiddie prison where it is assumed you’ll become a career criminal so that’s what will happen.
This kid’s life is over if he’s convicted. That simple. That’s how out system works especially for young Black boys.
At first I thought that the mom being charged was the parent of both kids. It now seems like the mom charged is the mom of only the 1 year old. The mom of the 8 year old has not been charged. So if the 8 year old “learned” from someone probably it was his mom who has 5 kids between 2 and 8 years old. I am thinking this probably isn’t the first time the 8 year old has been left in charge of all his siblings…
So the mom of the 1 year old is being charged, what responsibility does the mom of the 8 yo have in this?
I don’t know I assume that they will eventually charge her with something. The good news is the kids were all removed from her care. While I’m all for trying to keep families together the choice to leave kids alone to go to a club is not good parenting.
If an 8 year old were to throw a baseball throw your window, who would you go after? You would ask the kid’s parent to pay for the window. Both of those women should be charged. I personally think the 8 year old is too young to be charged for murder. He should not have been responsible for a baby and he probably didn’t know what he did could have caused death.
I doubt there is ONE adult here who hasn’t been really upset when their baby or child keeps crying. An 8 year old even without mimicking others might get so upset with crying that they would try to stop it any way. As for “viciously attacked”, anybody would likely cry more when hit, and the crying will not stop until unconciousness 
Both women need to go to the slammer, but the mother of the 1 year old is clearly more at fault, even if the 8 year old learned behavior from his mother. You just don’t leave a 1 year old with a bunch of kids, all 8 or younger. You just don’t.
I have to say, my spouse grew up in a single parent home, and his mom didn’t go out clubbing and leave him and his siblings alone. One might wonder how much clubbing went on when these “ladies” were pregnant.
From CNN:
"Had the women checked on the children when they got home from the club, Edwards said, police and paramedics would have responded earlier and Kelci’s death might have been averted. "
Clubbing while my kids were young? Didn’t happen because I knew I still had to get up by 5 or 6 next morning.
The article has been updated since I read it.
I cannot imagine why the mother of the other children wasn’t charged with child endangerment. I don’t see either of them as more at fault than the other.
My guess is the child was arrested so that he can be adjudicated into a treatment facility or specialized foster home.
In my state, Maryland, it is legal to leave an 8-year-old home without an adult. But the mother of the 8-year-old also left her younger children unsupervised. I don’t know what the rules are in Alabama, but I would think that she should be charged with something, though perhaps not in connection with the lack of supervision for the 8-year-old.
I think 8 year olds are too young to be left alone regardless of the law. .
Ever?
8 is third grade, usually. They’re not exactly babies.
You wouldn’t leave your third grader home alone for 15 minutes while you picked up a loaf of bread or dropped off your other child at a friend’s house?
I don’t know what the charging process in Alabama is like; the article say the police charged the kid but maybe that’s for arraignment or something because I assume prosecutors actually do the charging, either by indictment or information. In any case, 8 is presumed to be too young to have mens rea, meaning the mental intent to commit a crime.
Strange that no one checked on the baby when they got home. Once they found the baby dead the next morning, did the 8 year old just outright admit that he beat the baby for crying? That also seems strange. I think many 8 year olds would claim that they didn’t do anything and don’t know what happened.
how do they know that the 8 year old did it? Maybe one of the adults did it and they think pinning it on the 8 year old will mean no one gets convicted?