07-18-2005, 12:33 PM
A teenager accused of stabbing her friend and then herself near Scarborough's town library last March was delusional at the time, according to state experts.
The finding likely means the girl, charged with attempted murder, won't be confined to a juvenile correction center or be required to undergo long-term, court-supervised treatment for mental illness.
During a hearing Monday, Judge Peter Goranites ordered the 15-year-old girl to remain under court supervision until at least December, continuing therapy, house arrest and constant supervision by her family.
But Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson said Goranites' decision to suspend the proceedings will likely change five months from now. The judge is expected to find the teenager not criminally responsible by reason of insanity and, because of a gap in Maine Juvenile Code, let her go with no further court-ordered requirements.
"We don't believe this particular situation is effectively addressed in the juvenile code," Anderson said.
The district attorney said that after a judge rules on criminal responsibility, the court no longer has authority over the juvenile. At the same time, a case cannot be suspended indefinitely.
This issue doesn't exist in the adult system. An adult found not guilty by reason of insanity is committed to a mental hospital until the court determines it is safe to return the person to society, said Maura Keaveney, a lawyer representing the teenager.
Neither Anderson nor Keaveney had encountered the gap in the juvenile code until this case.
"When the whole thing is over, there is going to be no punishment and no further proceedings," Keaveney said.
The prospect of the case ending without the teenager being sent to Long Creek Youth Development Center or ordered to go through long-term treatment is upsetting to the victim's mother, Denise Kring. She thinks the judicial system is forgetting her daughter, who must live with the visible scars on her neck.
"I think there should be punishment for the crime. She tried to kill my daughter," Kring said.
The case has been complicated for authorities from the moment police got a 911 call on March 8 from the victim. Officers found the woman, who was 20 years old at the time of the stabbing, with knife wounds to her throat and back. The 15-year-old girl had a self-inflicted abdominal wound. She was later charged with attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault.
The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram has not identified the two individuals because of the nature of the incident and the fact that the girl facing criminal charges is a juvenile.
Police and Keaveney say the incident was part of an apparent suicide pact between the two friends. But the victim, who has Asperger's Syndrome, which makes it hard at times to read social cues and make friends, denies there was a pact.
The victim wrote a first-person account of the incident that was published last April in the student newspaper at Southern Maine Community College, where she is a student. The article said she and the teenager had decided to become "blood sisters." They went to the wooded area near the library to perform a ceremony depicted in the movie "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood," but things turned violent.
On Monday morning, the two young women sat no more than 10 feet apart in a courtroom. Kring, the victim's mother, said it was their first contact since the incident.
The teenager did not look at her former friend during the short hearing, which included a request by the victim to give the 15-year-old a letter she had written describing the pain the attack caused.
Keaveney did not challenge the additional months of court supervision. She said her client is attending therapy and not a danger at this point.
But the likely resolution is frustrating for Kring and her daughter. They were upset as they left the courtroom, with the mother saying later that the judicial system and the district attorney's office aren't addressing the severity of the crime.
Kring has started to push for changes in state law. She said juveniles who are found not criminally responsible should remain under court supervision and go through treatment, even hospitalization, if needed.
State Sen. Philip Bartlett, D-Gorham, said that Kring has been in touch with him, and he has started to look into how the Maine Legislature can address the issue.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/l...ourt.shtml
The finding likely means the girl, charged with attempted murder, won't be confined to a juvenile correction center or be required to undergo long-term, court-supervised treatment for mental illness.
During a hearing Monday, Judge Peter Goranites ordered the 15-year-old girl to remain under court supervision until at least December, continuing therapy, house arrest and constant supervision by her family.
But Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson said Goranites' decision to suspend the proceedings will likely change five months from now. The judge is expected to find the teenager not criminally responsible by reason of insanity and, because of a gap in Maine Juvenile Code, let her go with no further court-ordered requirements.
"We don't believe this particular situation is effectively addressed in the juvenile code," Anderson said.
The district attorney said that after a judge rules on criminal responsibility, the court no longer has authority over the juvenile. At the same time, a case cannot be suspended indefinitely.
This issue doesn't exist in the adult system. An adult found not guilty by reason of insanity is committed to a mental hospital until the court determines it is safe to return the person to society, said Maura Keaveney, a lawyer representing the teenager.
Neither Anderson nor Keaveney had encountered the gap in the juvenile code until this case.
"When the whole thing is over, there is going to be no punishment and no further proceedings," Keaveney said.
The prospect of the case ending without the teenager being sent to Long Creek Youth Development Center or ordered to go through long-term treatment is upsetting to the victim's mother, Denise Kring. She thinks the judicial system is forgetting her daughter, who must live with the visible scars on her neck.
"I think there should be punishment for the crime. She tried to kill my daughter," Kring said.
The case has been complicated for authorities from the moment police got a 911 call on March 8 from the victim. Officers found the woman, who was 20 years old at the time of the stabbing, with knife wounds to her throat and back. The 15-year-old girl had a self-inflicted abdominal wound. She was later charged with attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault.
The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram has not identified the two individuals because of the nature of the incident and the fact that the girl facing criminal charges is a juvenile.
Police and Keaveney say the incident was part of an apparent suicide pact between the two friends. But the victim, who has Asperger's Syndrome, which makes it hard at times to read social cues and make friends, denies there was a pact.
The victim wrote a first-person account of the incident that was published last April in the student newspaper at Southern Maine Community College, where she is a student. The article said she and the teenager had decided to become "blood sisters." They went to the wooded area near the library to perform a ceremony depicted in the movie "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood," but things turned violent.
On Monday morning, the two young women sat no more than 10 feet apart in a courtroom. Kring, the victim's mother, said it was their first contact since the incident.
The teenager did not look at her former friend during the short hearing, which included a request by the victim to give the 15-year-old a letter she had written describing the pain the attack caused.
Keaveney did not challenge the additional months of court supervision. She said her client is attending therapy and not a danger at this point.
But the likely resolution is frustrating for Kring and her daughter. They were upset as they left the courtroom, with the mother saying later that the judicial system and the district attorney's office aren't addressing the severity of the crime.
Kring has started to push for changes in state law. She said juveniles who are found not criminally responsible should remain under court supervision and go through treatment, even hospitalization, if needed.
State Sen. Philip Bartlett, D-Gorham, said that Kring has been in touch with him, and he has started to look into how the Maine Legislature can address the issue.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/l...ourt.shtml