COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) – A Columbia mother is speaking out after a judge ruled that a 15-year-old accused in the beating of her teenage son will not be tried as an adult.
On Wednesday, family court judge Robert Armstrong said the teen's chances of being rehabilitated will be greater if the youngster is tried in family court.
Vicky Strange calls the decision a miscarriage of justice. The teen in question is charged in the June beating of her son Carter.
“I want to see that verdict reversed. I want to see the punishment fit the crime,” said Strange. "I'm not done fighting. Now I'm not just fighting the kids that did this, I'm fighting our justice system."
In June, Carter Strange was attacked by a group of teens as he jogged through Columbia's Five Points. Eight teens were charged in the case. Strange suffered serious head injuries and spent a week in the hospital.
Prominent Columbia defense attorney Jack Swerling is representing the teen charged in the case. Swerling says he believes the judge's ruling is fair.
“The judge made the correct ruling on the facts of this particular situation," said Swerling. "He did not say the juvenile was not responsible, he simply said his case should be heard in the Family Court. It is clear that one of the other individuals inflicted these terrible injuries on this young man.”
A hearing is scheduled next month to determine if a 14-year-old suspect will be tried as an adult. Two others are awaiting trial.
Four others already have been punished in the juvenile justice system.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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