Melissa+Haun+1B

__
 * The Trial of Danielle Black**
 * [[image:http://bentcorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/DanielleBlack-2.jpg]]

Background**__ Last fall, Danielle Black, a fifteen year old girl from Hagerstown, Maryland, asked her friend Matthew Gray to kill her father. They were on the bus, and he thought she was joking. He didn't pay much attention. But on Halloween, her father, Billy Black, was found dead, stabbed behind the house he shared with his wife Andrea and Danielle. The murderer is suspected to be twenty year old Alec Eger, another one of Danielle's friends. Eger was seen as a protective figure by the kids Danielle spent time with. He apparently meant to talk to Billy Black about abusing his daughter, but he says that Black pulled out a knife and the situation became violent. At first Danielle told the police that her father was physically abusing her, but since then she has admitted she was lying. Some of her peers have said that she was very public about her desire for harm to come to her father.

__** The Defendant's Side of the Story **__ Danielle's lawyer was Mary Drawbaugh. She told the court that Danielle was only joking on the bus, and Danielle insisted she hadn't meant any harm to come to her father. Drawbaugh said Danielle was a smart but troubled girl who deserved to live her life. She said that a social worker has given reports about how Danielle's parents split up when she was young, and how, beginning at age twelve, she fell into a pattern of self-destructive and dangerous behavior. She has overdosed on prescription drugs after running away from home, attempted to kill herself, and cut herself. She has problems with anxiety and depression, and the police found poems and journal entries she wrote that included descriptions of her unhappiness and threats against her father. Drawbaugh said that these threats were only evidence of an overactive imagination, and that these problems showed how Danielle was very unhappy and was mentally, if not physically, abused by her father. At first Danielle was tried as a juvenile, but in December of 2008 Attorney Charles Strong decided she should be charged as an adult. Drawbaugh tried to change this so she could be charged as a juvenile, but Judge Long denied this motion. He said that it was clear that Danielle Black should be tried as an adult.

**__The Prosecutor's Side of the Story__** Deputy State's Attorney Joseph Michael acted as the prosecutor in this case. He portrayed Danielle as a gang member, backing up his claims with photos found that showed Danielle spelling out "blood" with her fingers, with her hair dyed black. "She was a thug, in with a bunch of thugs, and she was determined that her father be killed," he said. Danielle's stepmother, Andrea Black, said that her husband was a loving father who had never abused his daughter. She said that Danielle hated her father for no good reason. “I think you had your dad’s life taken for no reason and for that, I think you should get life in prison,” Black said. Life in prison is the maximum sentence for murder solicitation, and Michael maintained that Danielle should serve a life sentence. He said Danielle had "assassinated her father's character", and compared the situation to the Salem Witch Trials, since during that time the lies of young girls resulted in the deaths of innocent people. He also pointed out that the fact that Billy Black was murdered right as he was leaving for work was evidence that Danielle was involved in the murder plot, because Alec Eger had no other way of knowing Black would be leaving the house at that time. A photo found among Danielle Black's possessions. The part of the photo that shows the gang sign she was displaying has been cropped out.

In mid-october of 2009, at age sixteen, Danielle Black was tried in court as an adult for the solicitation of her father's murder, and sentenced to ten years in prison with five years of supervised probation by Washington County Circuit Judge M. Kenneth Long Jr. This was somewhat of a compromise, as Drawbaugh managed to prevent a life sentence, but was not able to keep Danielle from being tried as an adult. The judge gave her the maximum amount of supervised probation possible, and ordered a psychological evaluation and substance abuse counseling. He said that whether or not her friends, such as Matthew Gray, thought she was joking about hurting her father, she clearly prompted his murder by lying about his abuse. Danielle is currently in the Washington County Detention Center and is actively participating in programs provided by the jail. I was surprised by the sentence Danielle Black recieved when I first read about it. At first I thought that ten years in prison was too harsh for the crime. I can still definitely see Danielle's side of the story, but after reading what Andrea Black said about her husband, I decided ten years was fair. I think a life sentence would have been too harsh, considering the fact that Danielle's intentions were not completely clear. I think if she had been tried as a juvenile, the charge would have been less harsh, and if an adult had been convicted of the same crime, the punishment probably would have been a life sentence. The differnence is probably due to the fact that teenagers have a reputation for saying things they don't mean, especially about their parents. I think that the judge made a good decision by trying her as an adult, though, since she knew what she was doing and was aware of the problems that could be caused by lying about her father. In other words, she was responsible for her actions. I also think he did the right thing by giving her ten years in prison plus five years of supervised probation, because it allows her the opportunity to reform and live her life, instead of giving up on her by giving her life in prison. It's also a good idea to give her probation, because that way she won't be completely on her own until after age thirty, giving her plenty of time to mature and deal with her problems. This case relates to World Literature class because it deals with the amount of responsibility that should be placed on an adolescent's shoulders. It deals with questions regarding to what extent teenagers should be held responsible for their actions. It was also compared to the Salem WItch Trials, which dealt with the power and trustworthiness of adolescents.
 * __ The Outcome __ **
 * __Explication__**

References __** (2009). Troubled teen to be tried as adult in dad's death. //Associated press//, Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30979389/
 * __

Dishneau, D. (2009). Md. girl gets 10 years for soliciting dad's murder. //The washington examiner//, Retrieved from http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/ap/girl-16- faces-sentencing-for-murder-solicitation-65744767.html

Julius, E. (2009). Teen gets prison for murder solicitation. //The herald-mail//, Retrieved from http://www.herald-mail.com/? cmd=displaystory&story_id=232869&format=html

Danielle black under arrest. Online image. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from http://bentcorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/DanielleBlack-2.jpg

Danielle black. Online image. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2009/05/28/1225717/548999-girl-15-in-court-over-father-s- killing.jpg

Washington county sheriff's office. Online image. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from http://www.washcosheriff.com/graphics/patch-detention.jpg