Claire+MacPizzle+1B



West Palm Beach ( June 18, 2007)  and 16 year old, Avion Lawson has admitted to being in a gang rape of a young woman and her son, 2 years ago. Lawson now 16 pleaded guilty and testified against his co-defendents Tommy Lee Poindexter, 20, and Nathan Walker, 18. The woman was raped and her son beaten, and both were forced to perform sexual acts on one another. Poindexter and Walker are facing 14 counts of sexual battery, burglary, grand theft, and promoting sexual performance of a child and up to 11 life sentences plus 50 years if convicted.  Police say Lawson and the other defendants were among as many as 10 teenagers who attacked the woman, and later doused the victims with cleaning solutions, nail polish remover and vinegar to clean the crime scene.

Lawson pleaded guilty to the rape but did not originally begin the break in or assault. He states that Poindexter invited him after everyone had already been in the house. All were teens at the time but were tried as adults. Lawson was set to stand trial in September, but pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the others in hopes of receiving a lesser sentence. " Lawson said the woman’s son cried, “Don’t kill me,” over and over as he was beaten." 

Poindexter and Walker are facing up to 11 life sentences and 50 years if convicted. Lawson's punishment was not stated but since he pleaded guilty, he was to receive a lesser sentence. 

 This relates to our unit on justice and adolescence because this concerns people well under the umbrella of adolescence being tried as adults because of the seriousness of their misdeeds. The sentences received were just because of how the people pleaded, what they did, and how people admitted to others deeds. Teens should be tried as adults depending on the seriousness of their crimes and whether they are old enough to know better. If the defendants were adults the trial would have been much harsher because of one defendant ratting out the other guilty parties. The court's ruling seems extremely fair to me, and I feel that Lawson should receive half the punishment that Poindexter and Walker received because of his age, his admission, his name giving, and his plea.

 Skoloff, Brian (2009, August 29). Teen testifies against co-defendants in gang rape. //Bradenton Herald.// Retrieved from []

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