2016 Tennessee case
An 11-year-old boy in Jefferson County, Tennessee, has been sentenced to spend the next eight years in juvenile prison for the murder of an 8-year-old girl, according to a court document.
An 11-year-old boy will spend eight years in juvenile prison for murdering 8-year-old MaKayla Dyer with a shotgun after she refused to let him play with her puppy, according to a sentencing document.
www.cnn.com
While it may seem surprising to some that the father, the person whose choice to leave a loaded gun unsecured led to the death of 8-year-old MaKayla, faced no charges, this is often the case. In Tennessee, it is not uncommon for the gun owning adult in these cases not to be charged. The first year MaKayla’s Law was filed and presented before the Senate Judiciary Committee, District Attorney Ray Whitley was called to testify. He spoke in favor of the bill as well, noting the difficulty in prosecuting reckless endangerment cases, the lack of legal guidance when it comes to filing charges in these cases, and the inconsistency of when or if charges are filed.
On October 3, 2015, 8-year-old MaKayla Dyer and her sister were playing with their new puppy outside their mobile home when their 11-year-old neighbor called to them from inside his home, asking if he could play with the puppy. MaKayla refused, so the 11-year-old boy retrieved his father’s...
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