Judge calls Arkansas juvenile system poor, puts North Little Rock murder case in adult court

Anthony Williams
Anthony Williams

A 17-year-old murder suspect must stand trial as an adult, in part because Arkansas does not provide enough support to its juvenile-justice system to ensure it operates effectively, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright ruled Tuesday.

The case of Anthony Fredrick "Lil June" Williams is the second time since early May that Wright has remarked on deficiencies in the state's support of the juvenile system, which is jointly administered by the courts and the state Department of Human Services.

"This court hopes that all juvenile offenders may be rehabilitated within the system, but unless that system is provided with better resources, this will not happen," Wright stated last month in a ruling denying a transfer to juvenile court for a teenager accused of armed robbery.

"The court wishes to point out that if we fail to attempt to examine and understand the circumstances of this behavior, society will continue to suffer the consequences of this problem."

In consideration of the views of the U.S. Supreme Court, Arkansas courts have come to recognize that child offenders have a significantly greater potential for rehabilitation than their adult counterparts do, the judge wrote about Williams' case.

But children accused of crimes cannot be redeemed if Arkansas does not do more for them, a failing that the state will pay for one way or another, Wright stated.

"The court notes that any prospects for [rehabilitation] will never come to pass until the state is willing to provide increased manpower and resources to deal with issues in the juvenile division," the May ruling stated.

"Unless the state is willing to address this, it will eventually be required to use those same resources to expand prison capacity."

Prosecutors charged Williams, of Little Rock, as an adult in the December slaying of 19-year-old Tyrone Leon Barrett of North Little Rock. Police said Williams admitted to shooting Barrett after losing a fistfight to him.

But the presiding judge has the final say on where the defendant will stand trial, and Williams had asked to have the first-degree murder charge heard in juvenile court, where he can participate in counseling and educational programs designed to rehabilitate child offenders.

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Judges are required to issue written findings on the factors considered in ruling on whether the defendant will be tried as an adult.

Williams' attorney Willard Proctor began the appeal process on Wednesday.

In Williams' case, the judge ruled that those juvenile-justice programs in their current state do not appear sufficiently effective.

"The court has reflected on the facilities and programs available to the Juvenile Division of [Pulaski County] Circuit Court (as well as how these facilities and programs have been used in the defendant's pending cases in the Juvenile Division) and whether those facilities and programs are likely to rehabilitate the defendant prior to his 21st birthday," the judge wrote.

"The court has weighed the efficacy of these programs and services against the legitimate and necessary concerns about the protection of society from violent offenders. The court is concerned with the sufficiency of the resources available to the Juvenile Division and finds that the programs in their current form would fail when applied to the circumstances of this case."

The judge also noted failings by the teen's family to do enough to help him succeed in juvenile court. Williams has been ruled delinquent three times since 2014, twice in cases in which police reported he had a gun. Williams also has pending charges in juvenile court.

Williams' low IQ and his documented struggles with reading require that he receive both strong family support and intensive supervision by juvenile probation officers for him to be able to successfully complete court-ordered counseling, "but this has not occurred," Wright stated.

"The defendant's home environment is poor," the judge wrote. "The mother made little to no effort to get the defendant to his counseling sessions ordered by the juvenile court. There has been little effort made by his family to get him to attend school."

His parents have criminal records, Wright stated.

Williams' mother, 38-year-old Natilie Nicole Johnson, in on probation for forgery while her husband, Raymond Lamont Johnson, Williams' 52-year-old paraplegic stepfather, has a "criminal history involving drugs and firearms," the judge observed.

Court records show that Raymond Johnson was sent to prison in May 2015 for six years on charges accrued over a two-year span that included keeping a gambling house, drug trafficking, felon in possession of a firearm and theft by receiving.

Natilie Johnson has been on probation since April 2006 for second-degree forgery. She was sentenced to four years' probation in exchange for pleading guilty.

Her sentence has been extended three times after she failed to report to probation as required and pay the required fees, and once tested positive for marijuana. Her sentence is to end in January 2018, court records show.

Metro on 06/08/2017

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