State’s juvenile justice laws mean teen accused of killing girl, 13, will not be tried as adult
MANCHESTER — The local teen who has been charged in the homicide of a 13-year-old girl will not be tried as an adult because of the state’s latest juvenile laws.
Manchester police discovered the body of Zaniya Wright in an apartment building on Olcott Street on June 18. Lt. Ryan Shea said officers found the girl dead in a common area in the basement of the apartment complex.
The state’s chief medical examiner said the girl had been strangled and ruled her death a homicide. Wright had been reported missing to police the day before she was found.
Detectives with the Investigative Services Unit investigated the homicide, and after five months, obtained a warrant to charge a 14-year-old Manchester boy with felony murder, first-degree strangulation, first-degree sexual assault, and risk of injury to a minor. The teen was arrested on Nov. 12 and remains in custody at the Hartford Juvenile Detention Center.
While Manchester police have identified the teen — which the agency is legally able to do based on the seriousness of his offenses — Hearst Connecticut Media is withholding the name since he is not being tried as an adult.
Connecticut’s latest juvenile laws indicate the court automatically must transfer juvenile matters to the Superior Court adult criminal docket in any case involving a child who is at least 15 years old and is accused of a serious felony.
Mike Lawlor, an attorney and professor at University of New Haven, said the juvenile law changed in 2015. The law previously required that the court “must transfer any case to the criminal docket if the child is at least 14 years of age and charged with” murder, capital felony murder, arson murder or felony murder, among various other serious offenses.
Bridgeport-based attorney Ed Gavin, who is not representing the teen in the case but has worked on various juvenile and highprofile cases, said a big factor to changing the law was that children are not neurologically developed.
“That 15-year benchmark is very, very important,” Gavin said in terms of whether a child goes through the juvenile court system or Superior Court, based on their charges.
“If you are charged with serious offenses — like a murder — and you have attained the age of 15, the case is automatically transferred,” he said, to the adult court system.
In juvenile court, all matters are sealed, and only lawyers and guardians are allowed in the courtroom. When a juvenile case is sent to Superior Court, any member of the public can attend the proceedings.
Gavin said just as cases can be transferred up to Superior Court, attorneys of minors can also petition to have their case sent back to juvenile court. For example, Gavin said, if a murder charge against a 15-year-old is reduced to manslaughter, the defense attorney could ask for the case to be sent to juvenile court.
“The system is being fair in handling of juvenile matters because we all know that kids are impulsive. They should be treated different,” Gavin said. “That 14-year-old should be treated different than, say, a 25-year-old. The old ‘lock ’em up and throw away the key’ theory with juvenile justice is not appropriate.”
Theresa A. Severance, professor of sociology and criminology at Eastern Connecticut State University since 1999, said the change in juvenile laws came following research that indicated “adolescent brains are still developing the tools to help with impulse control and being able to anticipate consequences.”
If the child has a mental health diagnosis, they can be sent to the state’s mental health center for children in Middletown for an indefinite period of time. A child could also be held at the facility if they are deemed incompetent to understand the court process.
She said most states have the age of juvenile court cutoff at 17, with some exceptions for certain offenses or ages.
“In Connecticut, you have to be at least 15 and have committed a serious felony before you can be sent into the adult system,” Severance said.
“Obviously, cases like this are shocking,” she said about the Manchester case. “Thankfully, they’re relatively rare . ... You have families of two young people who have forever been changed by this, as well as the community. So you have to focus on, not just the kid, but the families and the community involved, and how to try to restore and help them, how to heal and move forward in a meaningful way.”
She said sentencing for juveniles depends on the specifics of the case, adding that if there are mental health concerns there are also other programs available.
“These are complex cases,” Severance said. “It’s not possible to satisfy everyone in terms of what they think is going to be a just and fair outcome.”