The Terrible Case of Jordan Brown and a Murder
“All things truly wicked start from an innocence.”~~Ernest Hemingway
In 2009 eleven year old Jordan Brown, of Lawrence County, PA, was accused of shooting his father’s pregnant finance’ with a shotgun while she slept. Both Kenzie Houk and the child she was carrying died and Jordan Brown was charged with two counts of homicide, because Kenzie Houk was eight and a half months pregnant. Since that day, questions have arisen about Jordan Brown. What could have driven a child to such an act? Should he be tried as an adult or as a child?
Amnesty International got involved with the case at one point due to the PA Attorney General pushing for Jordan to be tried as an adult. If convicted of first-degree murder as an adult, Jordan Brown would have faced life in prison without parole. Amnesty International’s Director for the Americas stated, “Putting a child as young as Jordan Brown at risk of life in prison with no chance of parole is inconsistent with international human rights.” They went on to argue, “The USA is the only country we know of in the world that pursues life imprisonment without parole against children, and it does so regularly.”
After much legal wrangling, the courts determined that Jordan Brown will be tried as a juvenile, and if convicted will serve in a detention center until he is twenty-one years old. But the nagging questions about what drove an 11-year-old child to have allegedly committed murder remain. We generally consider childhood as a time of innocence. When that time intersects with criminality, not only is the child punished but society at large is should be faced with culpability. Therefore, a new issue has arisen. Should the proceedings in the trial of Jordan Brown remain open to the public?
On the surface it would seem there would be lessons to be learned from these proceedings, and not just prurient interest. Until we hear from defense attorneys, we will not know what might have driven Jordan Brown allegedly to have committed the crimes of which he is accused. Many children have access to guns within their homes, but an eleven-year-old? Was the weapon not secured? Children at that age rarely have impulse control. Did Jordan Brown have the emotional and cognitive ability to distinguish between right and wrong? And what, if any, red flags may have been missed by Jordan’s family?
These questions arise, not as a defense of this alleged act, but rather as a means by which we as a society might learn. Children in our society are faced with too much violence, from video games to Internet access where even a child can view that which is inappropriate. It is difficult to help a child maintain their innocence these days. They seem to face problems never dealt with by us at their age. Perhaps viewing the court proceedings will enable adults to be more cognizant of children at risk in such open environs as our society and to take the necessary steps to ensure that ‘wicked things do not begin at the time of innocence.’ These court proceedings should be open to the public. It is time for us to look at ourselves in the mirror of our children.
—cher
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Cher, is it that children are perpetrating more serious crimes these days, or is it that we are just hearing more about them through the media? If they in fact ARE committing more violent acts, is it because their parents aren’t parenting, and are allowing them to do things that loving and caring parents would never permit? And just why did that boy have access to a gun? What was it about this situation that made the son feel he had no other option but to kill the woman who had come between him and his father?
The pre-frontal cortex, the area of the brain that houses impulse control and reasoning, does not fully develop until between age 18 and 25. This is such a widely known fact that insurance companies charge higher rates to young drivers until they reach age 25, and rental car companies do not rent cars to young drivers.
Parents have no control over the development of the pre-frontal cortex. All they can do is to raise their children to be safe and secure, and loved unconditionally.
Parents who choose to ignore the warning signs, parents who say they had no idea that their child was capable of such violence, have only been lying to themselves. Maybe they were just too busy to give the child the attention he needed to insure good mental health. Maybe they could not face the fact that their child was “different” and did not seek help for him. I believe the signs are always there if a parent cares enough about the child they brought into the world.
I find myself wondering if Judie has children? Having raised 5 myself I can tell you from personal experience that sometimes you can do everything right and still get a messed up kid. It truly is a crap shoot. Still Judie raises some valid points. There are many parents that ignore warning signs and do not get the help for their children that they need. Also, I completely agree with the point (how in the heck did this 11 year old have access to a gun? Clearly there were some issues here that were not dealt with. This sort of thing doesn’t just show up one day. It is a tragedy for sure and I don’t think there are any easy answers. All children deserve a loving safe environment in which to flourish, and sadly too many do not get that. The truly sad thing is that now this child for whatever reason has committed this heinous act, and without knowing the how and the why of it, I find it a bit disconcerting that this kid will be again walking among society at 21 (pre-frontal cortex) still not wholly developed, and could still be not only a danger to society but an educated one.
Dani, I have six children–four of my own and two steps. One of my children does have mental health issues, and I did my best to find help for her at a young age. She still has many issues, but I think I can safely say she’ll not shoot someone.
I come from a very disfunctional family, and my mother chose to sweep mental illness under the rug. My father was very ill and eventually committed suicide. When one of my brothers, who suffered from ADHD, accidentally caused the death of a young girl, a neighbor, my parents never sought help for him through therapy. It was a horrible accident in which my brother was playing with matches in the back yard, and dropped one on the grass hula skirt that the young girl was wearing. She was dancing around and the edge of the skirt hit him in the eyes, causing him to drop the match. The skirt lit up almost immediately. She ran into our house. I was in the basement helping with the laundry, and I can still see her at the top of the stairs, her entire body engulfed in flames. She died the next day from her severe burns. My brother is, and always has been, a tortured soul. He has refused to get help for himself. Had my mother been more compassionate toward him, instead of ignoring the pain he must have felt as a very young child, his life may have been quite different.
I think for the protection of the child, the court proceedings should remain sealed and there should be a press embargo on covering it. I only say that because I remember how the press followed the murder of the Jamie Bulger killers. The faces of those two boys were slapped across every paper in the country. There was never any attempt to understand why they did it but they were absolutely tried and convicted by the press.
I can understand why you’d want it public, but every time this child is anxious, scared or nervous, he will be painted as sullen, devious or calculating. Best let him have some semblance of privacy and a fair trial.
All one has to do is look at this boy’s eyes. He is frightened, and confused. He will always wear the other boy’s death like a cloak.
I keep asking myself, was he a victim in some way, his actions a manefestation of some pent up or well-hidden problems? Or perhaps he was a regular kid with one destructive impulse and available gun? Were there mental issues? The questions go on and on. Whatever the cause, it’s such a tragedy all the way around.
From his friend’s description of him, he had very little self-control for his age, and tended to explode in certain situations. This certainly suggests either neurological or mental health issues.