Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates delivered a broadside against the Maryland State Legislature for tying prosecutors’ hands in certain juvenile prosecutions.
During an Oct. 8 news conference, Bates tore into a 2022 law that kept his office from filing felony charges against a 12-year-old allegedly responsible for a vehicular homicide.
“What really hurts is when having to speak to a family after the loved one has been killed, and to make things even more difficult is to have to tell them that there will essentially be no one held responsible or accountable for their loved ones’ loss of life.”
“This is an absolutely heartbreaking conversation,” continued Bates, expressing frustration he is unable to charge the juvenile with involuntary manslaughter because he is too young.
The incident in question occurred on Sept. 30 when, according to the State’s Attorney, the youth was driving a stolen car at 1 p.m. with a 15-year-old passenger when he allegedly struck and killed Barry Wright, Sr, 69, on his motorcycle on N. West Avenue.
Bates said the youth should have been in school instead of “taking a life.”
“That is unbelievable,” said Bates, noting that the situation is not a one-off. He cited other recent cases including one last month in which a juvenile on probation for a motor vehicle death crashed into a bus sending 16 people to the hospital. And in August, a father of five was killed in a collision with a car driven by a 13-year-old.
Typically, these circumstances would result in trials, but not in these cases.
Bates challenged the state legislature to revisit the law and broaden his authority to prosecute juvenile offenders. A sentiment mirrored by Wright’s family in a grieving letter which Bates read at the news conference.
They said Wright’s death shattered their world and tore their family apart. They decried what they described as the indifference of legislators.
“So long as the perpetrators are under the age of 13, the boy who stole my father’s life is a mere 12 years of age, is walking free…He will never face true justice, never answer for the unbearable pain he caused.”
Bates said the defendant in the Wright case was already under the supervision of juvenile authorities in another matter. It’s not clear what if any additional sanctions will be imposed.
According to a legislative summary, the purpose of the 2022 Maryland Juvenile Justice Reform law is to specify the “authority of the juvenile court to place a child on probation under certain circumstances.” It also establishes a commission on best practices for juvenile justice reform.
