Wash. teen sentenced for killing playmate

[Witchy_Dem]

Wash. teen sentenced for killing playmate

By SHANNON DININNY, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 53 minutes ago

A boy convicted of stabbing a playmate to death when he was 12 years old was sentenced Monday to the maximum 26 years in prison.

A jury convicted Evan Savoie, now 15, of first-degree murder for the 2003 stabbing death of 13-year-old Craig Sorger, a developmentally disabled playmate. Despite Savoie's youth, prosecutors tried him as an adult.

Savoie's attorneys have said they will appeal the verdict.

Grant County Superior Court Judge Ken Jorgensen sentenced Savoie to the maximum term.

Savoie has repeatedly proclaimed he is innocent. He said Craig fell from a tree while they were playing and that he left him injured — without a pulse — on a wooded trail but didn't kill him.

The key to the prosecution's case was the testimony of Jake Eakin, another playmate who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder by complicity last year, two years after Craig's death. He is serving 14 years in prison.

http://www.komotv.com/news/story.asp?ID=42947
http://www.komotv.com/news/story.asp?ID=36561

[MADem]

1. He got off light, actually

What, the kid fell from a tree thirty four times onto a knife? This kid needs life in a very secure mental facility.

Sorger, 13, was found beaten and stabbed 34 times in an Ephrata recreational vehicle park.

Wearing handcuffs, eyeglasses and slicked-back, shoulder-length hair, a pale Eakin trembled at times as he described from the witness stand the rainy day he and Savoie went to the park to play. At one point, Savoie pulled a knife out of his pocket and told Eakin he "wanted to go on a killing spree."


....Savoie then asked Sorger to feel the ground to see if it was wet. He told Sorger to touch the ground for 10 seconds; Sorger got on his knees and began counting to 10. At nine, Savoie dropped a rock the "size of a basketball" on the back of Sorger's neck, knocking the boy to the ground, Eakin said.

....Savoie then began hitting Sorger - perhaps more than 30 times, Eakin said. Several times Sorger tried to get away, crying out, "Why are you doing this to me," but Savoie repeatedly pulled him back to the ground and continued striking him. Eakin said he didn't see anything in Savoie's hand, but did see blood coming from Savoie's neck as the boy cried out. ....

[Turbineguy]

5. I have to wonder....

how does somebody get to the point where doing something so awful seems like a reasonably good idea?

[Vidar]

2. Fine by me.

[zreosumgame]

3. ah, need to feed the molesters in prison I see...

how nice of them

[slackmaster]

4. The molesters get depressed if they don't have kids to molest

If they become suicidal and kill themselves because of lack of molestees, their blood will be on society's hands.

[sandnsea]

He'll go to a youth facility

And then on to one of the units for the mentally ill. I don't think any state puts kids in adult facilities. I know Oregon has a special unit for youth who commit violent crimes, I would guess Washington does too. This kid definitely needs to go away for a long, long time. In most states people would be clamoring for the death penalty, so I don't see the need to criticize when they obvioiusly can't turn the kid loose.

[ismnotwasm]

9. They go to adult prisons

Once they're 18. (Washington state here) I have a friend whose daughter committed a triple felony at 16 (Not murder, but bad) She was tried as an adult, went to juvenile facility and straight to Purdy. She's still there, she's about 25 now. It was a gang related, and very violent offense, plus the girl had serious mental problems. There was a certain miscarriage of justice, as the 2 older males she was with got off with lighter sentences. She got 20 years. Long story.
She is not stable in prison, trust me. She'll get out as bad as she went in if her current behavior is any indication.

I hope those kids DO get the help they need. But that won't happen in an adult prison.

[sandnsea]

11. So she went to a youth facility, like I said

I'm sorry Washington doesn't have a facility for disturbed young offenders, they should. But they do not send youth into adult facilities and that was my main point. Sadly, Washington only has the one facility for women, men might have more options available just because so many more are in the system.

[ismnotwasm]

6. A 12 year old adult

Lovely.

[sandnsea]

8. You want him out in 3 years??

That's what happens when kids are put in the youth justice system. I don't see that they had any choice when the crime was so sadistic. I'm not a supporter of trying kids as adults at all, but I'm also not in favor of a system that doesn't have any leeway in following juvenile offenders after they turn 18.

[ismnotwasm]

10. No

Actually my real opinion is our entire justice system needs an overhaul. The kid is obviously very disturbed. I don't know how to fix that. There are certain ideas tossed out now and again that may work with children, but if we're dealing with some sort of socio-pathic disorder, I'm not sure what works.

[sandnsea]

12. I agree

Schweitzer in Montana is implementing a new kind of system, separating out various types of offenders into different facilities so that everybody receives targeted treatment. Oregon has a separate facility for youth 16-23 that has had really good success. I think every state needs that. But even in Oregon, Kip Kinkel is there but he isn't getting out any time soon, if ever.

[ismnotwasm]

13. That's the kind of thing I mean

I know there are better ways to deal with criminals-- to reduce the risk to society, and possibly salvage a human being, but our current system warehouses them. And seems to be caught in a loop of crime, sentence, release, crime
I think the younger we can reach them, with more effective approaches the better success we'll have with reducing crime. And no so called "slap on the wrist" at first offense. Kids need to be treated early for offenses, without sadistic treatment, but strict boundaries and goal directed activities. And a clear picture of the consequences of ANY behavior, good, bad or indifferent.
What's the saddest is that we have such a desperate need for this.
Even if someone needs to be apart from society for life-- there are such individuals-- I would rather see some sort of productive life, rather than the what the current prison culture produces

[sandnsea]

14. I think most would agree

It's unfortunate politics ends up focusing on useless stuff, like trying kids as adults, instead of the solutions that most people would agree with. So the debate about juvenile crime has become the age kids can be tried as adults or executed - instead of the solutions that we all basically agree on. Another wedge issue by the right really, most people wouldn't support executing kids without all this mob mentality going on lately.

[pitohui]

23. what solution do we all basically agree on in cases like this?

i think it's pretty clear that we do NOT all agree, i think in cases like this the monster should be recognized what he is -- a monster, i don't care that he was 12, he don't get a free kill for being a child prodigy among murderers

those who want him treated and released, good lord, what treatment would possibly work?

[sandnsea]

24. "separated from society for life"

I guess you missed that. Nobody was supporting releasing him after a couple of counseling sessions.

There are plenty of treatment programs that work for a lot of these kids, they're just expensive to operate is all. Our state has one of the best in the nation because when we implemented the right to prosecute kids as adults, we also implemented a new system with plenty of treatment to go along with it. There are several states that put money into their juvenile offender programs because there's the best chance of rehabilitation and most of them will get out eventually even with a long sentence. I know this is hard for people who live in a culture that simply labels someone as trash and throws them away, but there are huge parts of the country who really don't look at their fellow citizens that way.

Oh, and I've been wanting to catch you. Do you remember last fall when many of us tried to tell you that the abandonment of New Orleans was intentional and that the goal was to keep minorities and the poor from coming back so their proprty could be snatched up by developers. Do you remember we said you needed the government to protect the rights of homeowners in New Orleans and that your anti-government stance wasn't helping. Do you remember you told us we were nuts. Do you remember you said there wasn't any housing sales going on at all and the government needed to just get out of your business. Do you remember we said to just wait and see.

Real estate market exceeds pre-Katrina levels - spurred by speculators and bargain hunters
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003114888_orleans09.html

Maybe the Louisiana way, or the southern way, or the anti-government way - isn't really best after all. Maybe those hedonist libruls really do have a better plan.

[fun n serious]

20. Thats what I was thinking.

A 12 year old in an adult prison? He should be in a mental hospitol recieving massive therapy.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. Voting Age in Washington State should be 12

That's my position: The voting age in any state should be the youngest age at which that state is willing to prosecute people as adults. It is the only non-contradictory position.

[Solon]

15. I agree, though I'm a bit more expansive...

For example, if the voting age for people is 18, then all teenagers with jobs before 18 shouldn't have to pay any state or federal income taxes, outside of FICA and Social Security. I also think the drinking age needs to be lowered to the voting age.

[MrSlayer]

16. Lock him up forever.

Since they can't give him the DP. What a brutal, disgusting thing to do. No sympathy for him here.

[pitohui]

21. none here either mrslayer

what a waste of a human skin

[1monster]

17. If this had happened in Florida, the kid would have gotten life with no

chance whatsoever of parole.

They can and do charge kids as young as ten as adults.

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. The voting age in Florida should be ten

It's as simple as that.

[pitohui]

22. you know what?

if you didn't know at 10 or 12 years old that you don't do other kids like that, then you're never going to know it and you need to be gone from decent society forever

it hardly means that at age 10 or 12 you have enough grasp of politics to be ready for the vote

i don't have a problem w. the sentence other than i think the kid should NEVER get out, who would want that kind of animal in their neighborhood?

[greccogirl]

19. This kid is obviously

totally crazy, and what scares me is about ten years he'll probably be let out - and god knows what then. I hope they keep him locked up in a secure mental facility for a long time.