Should Ohio Teens Who Threw Sandbags Over Fwy Pass Be Charged With Murder?

This is a lose/lose situation, and it’s sparking serious debate.

On December 19, three 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old allegedly threw sandbags and other objects onto the southbound lanes of Interstate 75. One of the bags crashed through the window of a car traveling below, hitting passenger Marquise Byrd, 22, on the head. A frantic 9-1-1 call from the driver of the car followed, but it was too late to save him.

Authorities in Toledo have charged the four boys with murder. The teens, who have not been identified because of their ages, were arraigned Wednesday on charges of murder and vehicular vandalism. All four have denied the charges against them.

It’s a horrible thing to happen, but especially around Christmas. He was engaged and had a 2-year-old son, according to his family…now, his son will never have the holidays with his dad.

“While this season is typically a time of family celebration and togetherness, ours has been a season of profound loss and grieving,” said Lillian Diallo, an attorney for Byrd’s family, in a statement. “We have a mother mourning the senseless loss of her son,” and a sibling in the military “who just came home to the horror of burying his younger brother.”

The debates have been raging on in the news about whether or not this is a fair and just decision, to try these kids as adults. High-profile attorney Areva Martin weighed in this morning on Good Morning America.

According to CNN, this sad and shocking incident is not the first time teens have been charged with murder in a case like this, this year. In October, a Michigan judge denied bond for five teenagers accused of throwing a 6-pound rock off an overpass, killing motorist Kenneth White Jr., 32.

Some pundits argue that younger brains are less-developed in the areas of reasoning consequences. “Kids are different. They’re more impulsive. There’s more risk taking. They don’t delay like adults, they don’t stop and think, literally,” said Thomas Grisso, a professor of psychiatry at UMass Medical School and a leading researcher on adolescent development, in an interview with WBUR News (he was commenting on another case with similarly-aged defendants).

Grisso argues there are two things happening in the brain at the same time that make teens more susceptible to recklessness. There’s a surge of activity in the emotional area of the brain. “At the same time, the frontal lobe, the one that’s going to delay you and stop and think hasn’t quite developed to an adult capacity,” the professor explained. “And it creates a danger zone, a high-risk area.”

What do you think? Should these kids be charged with murder or something less severe? Weigh in here.