My response

I submitted a letter to the editor of my hometown paper today, the Fort Bend Herald. It is in response to the confession of a 16 year boy regarding the fire at my old high school. I read in an article (see the article here) that the school district wants the boy tried as an adult. After thinking about it for a while, I became quite appalled at this idea. So, I decided to write in. I have no idea if they will publish it or not, but it was worth a shot. Mom, I apologize in advance for any backlash that occurs when people realize it was your daughter who wrote the letter! But can you get a copy of the paper for me if they print it????

Anyway, here is what I sent in:

A 16 year old boy confessed yesterday to setting the fire in my old high school. Evidently before the confession, the boy and his parents sought council with an attorney in Houston, and he confessed to the arson on May 8. Government officials have not yet stated whether the student will be tried as a juvenile or an adult.

I read in the Herald on-line edition yesterday that the Needville Independent School District wants to have the boy tried as an adult. School superintendent Curtis Rhodes was quoted as saying, “Whomever it is…this is an adult crime. It was premeditated. ... It's not a juvenile issue, in our opinion. It's an adult crime and should be dealt with in an adult manner. It did damage that was irreparable.”

I understand that the crime was obviously pre-meditated and caused severe damage, but the crime was committed by a 16 year old boy. Other news stories are reporting that the boy has fought with mental illness and has sought professional help in the past. (see story here: http://www.click2houston.com/news/13270090/detail.html)

Trust me, I am as upset as anyone else that this fire destroyed the school. A lot was lost in that fire – old trophies, old photos, school records, personal property, etc. It saddens me that I won’t get to walk down that hallway again, listening to the creaking of the old floors and smelling that certain smell of days gone by locked in the wood. The situation is tragic.

But, I just cannot side with someone who wants the young man tried as an adult – for, he is not one. He is 16 years old. Although he knew full well what he was doing, he is still a child. I understand that children “grow up so fast these days” and that the crime committed was beyond stealing candy from a store. But I also believe that a boy of this age is just that – a boy. He was obviously troubled and needed help.

The school, and possibly the prosecutors, will argue that the boy made the premeditated decision in how he would act in setting the fire and by doing so he illustrated that this was calculated, deliberate and act of a non-juvenile. Laws were put into place to protect minors, and they were enacted for a specific reason. When you are 16, you are 16. Yes, you are grown, but not fully. You are still a juvenile at 16.

The loss of property was immense in the fire. Luckily, no lives were lost – although I also understand that plenty of lives were put at risk due to the intensity of the fire. Firefighters were in a very hazardous situation while dealing with the inferno. In the end though, it was only property that was destroyed – no loss of human life. Rhodes was also quoted as saying, “Their (the staff) lives have been turned upside down because of this.” This is completely understandable – but for a short term. The school will recover and continue on. Although a very tragic event, we must put this into perspective that it was things that were lost – not people.

If this boy is tried as an adult, it would be an atrocity. The boy has confessed, so there is no doubt he will serve time for the incident. Can you imagine putting a 16 year old boy into a Texas prison with violent offenders? For what will probably be years? The boy will be irreparably damaged. Although the boy’s life has already taken a tragic turn due to his actions, the punishment he will serve for the crime will determine the course of the rest of his life. Rehabilitation through the juvenile justice system and getting him the help he needs will allow him an opportunity for a brighter future.

I am not saying that we should let the young man off the hook for his crime. He did something terribly bad, and he should be punished for those actions. I just argue that he should not receive a punishment that greatly outweighs the impact of his crime - by putting him through the punishment phase as an adult will cause more damage than needed.

Towards the end of the article with NISD superintendent Rhodes, he says, “Needville is known for their discipline and I think we'll tow the line on this." One can have discipline and empathy at the same time. Yes, justice should be served, but fairly. The words from superintendent Rhodes sound like he is looking for revenge, not justice. School Board President Jim Kocian sounded even more vengeful when he was quoted as saying, “The young man made a big mistake and he's going to end up paying for it.” There is too much revenge seeking in the world today. We need to strive and repair that which is broken – in this case, the life of a 16 year old boy who made a terrible, terrible mistake.

I am a product of the Needville School District, and I graduated proudly in 1996. I look back fondly on my time in Needville, and the discipline instilled in me back then has helped guide who I am today. I live in North Carolina now and work at Duke University with a former US Ambassador around the ideas of leadership and public values – very often I deal with issues of justice and reconciliation. Through this work, I have learned that for healing to occur when a tragedy like this happens, there must be healing on both sides. The perpetrator must confess and pay some sort of reparation. The victim must accept the confession and move on into a new reality, healing as time goes on. The young man has confessed, and the legal system will decide in what way he should pay for his actions. On the victim side, we as Bluejays need to accept that a confession has been made and move forward with the rebuilding of a better tomorrow (and one with sprinklers).

No one who attended Needville will ever forget that we lost our beautiful old building this year. But, it is an excellent school – we will rebuild and continue reaching heights of academic excellence. This fire did not destroy the Bluejay spirit. So, when we seek justice for the crime committed, let’s not destroy this troubled young man’s hope for some sort of a productive future.

-Michelle Newman
Needville High School Graduate 1996
Currently residing in Durham, NC