As defense lawyers and prosecutors squared off in court to fight a legal war on several fronts, a Juvenile Court judge Thursday ordered two boys accused of the murder of 11-year-old Ryan Harris removed from electronic monitoring restraints.
The ruling freed the boys to play outside and leave their homes in the company of a parent or another adult family member.
In a brief court appearance following a one-hour closed-door conference with the lawyers, Judge William Hibbler eased the conditions of release imposed last week for the two boys, saying the original constraints were never seen as a long-term solution, but as “a short-term intervention as an alternative to detention.”
At the same time, defense lawyers for the 8-year-old filed seven new motions aimed at forcing prosecutors to turn over all available evidence as well as challenging a judge’s finding last week that there was sufficient evidence against the two boys to proceed toward a trial.
The two boys, both from the South Side Englewood neighborhood, were charged on Aug. 9 after they were alleged to have made statements during police questioning, giving information that police said “only the perpetrators” would know.
But defense lawyers asserted Thursday that a move by prosecutors to seek competency testing for the boys was a signal the state is now unsure of its case.
“I think everyone wants to get out of this gracefully,” declared Catherine Ferguson, an attorney for the 7-year-old. She noted that one of the two testing experts the state recommended has stated in the past that a child under the age of 10 is intrinsically incompetent to stand trial or understand Miranda rights.
In response, prosecutors insisted that their request to seek psychiatric testing of the boys to determine their competency to stand trial and understand the waiver of their rights to an attorney during police questioning was not a sign their case is weak.
“We’re confident” that the evidence shows the boys were responsible for the murder of Ryan Harris, declared Kip Owen, an assistant state’s attorney in charge of the delinquency division. “There is sufficient evidence.”
Owen, joined by prosecutors Michele Simmons, Patricia Sudendorf and Michael Oppenheimer, contended they sought the testing because an expert who preliminarily examined the 7-year-old last week had recommended further examinations of the boys.
Not surprisingly, defense attorneys offered a decidedly different take.
“They are absolutely backing off it,” declared Lewis Myers, one of the attorneys for the 8-year-old. “It’s probably the closest thing to a surrender.”
“These children are innocent,” chimed in Andre Grant, another member of the defense team. “They are attempting to back away from these children. They have terrorized these children.”
R. Eugene Pincham, the leader of the 8-year-old’s defense team, said he would oppose the testing and push to reopen the evidentiary hearing–known as a probable cause hearing–based on evidence from police reports and interviews done by privately retained investigators showing that in the days immediately after Ryan Harris’ body was found, witnesses reported she was last seen alive in the company of a man, not the boys.
In pushing for a new evidentiary hearing, Pincham hopes to get a ruling that there is insufficient evidence to pursue the charges. If successful, the boys would be able to resume their lives without “the stigma” that has come with being charged, Pincham said.
If the boys are tested and declared incompetent to stand trial, the state could then drop the charges but still contend that the boys were responsible, the defense lawyers theorize.
Pincham gave a preview of a portion of his case and how he plans to attack the state’s evidence at a news conference following the court hearing. He noted that police said the 7-year-old had said during questioning that after the victim was knocked off her bike when he hit her in the head with a thrown rock, the boys began “rubbing her body very softly.”
“Very softly,” Pincham said. “That’s not the language a 7-year-old would use.”
Police have said that the medical evidence does not suggest a struggle occurred, but Pincham said Thursday that he believes the girl fought back when attacked. He noted that police reports showed that a portion of her hair had been ripped from her head.
Myers attacked Police Supt. Terry Hillard for declaring that the case was “closed” after the boys were charged, contending that statement poisoned the climate surrounding the boys. “These young boys at best will suffer a stigma for the rest of their lives,” Myers said.
Pincham called for a “full blown-out hearing” on the evidence and accused the prosecutors of “trying to sweep (the case) under the rug” by seeking testing that will likely result in the case being ended without a trial.
Hibbler, in easing the conditions of the boys’ confinement, said, “The court feels there is adequate adult supervision” to assure the safety of the community and of the boys.
“For long periods of time, I believe it is almost impossible . . . to keep children this young confined inside the home,” Hibbler said. “What I want is adult supervision at all times. I want an adult within eye contact at all times.”
Hibbler said the boys would be allowed to go outside and to leave their homes to go to church and other places in the company of an adult. If the boys are to be away from home for more than an hour, the parents are to notify court personnel when they leave and when they come home, Hibbler ordered.
Elizabeth Tarzia, another lawyer for the 7-year-old, noted after the hearing, “They will be attending school, They will be attending church with their family. They will be like regular kids again.”
