ShareThisNAPLES, Fla. - Florida state attorneys working the case of 13-year-old Jonathan Rowles, who is accused of accidentally shooting his mother in the head and killing her in late August, face a delicate quandary.
They will need to walk a fine line between seeking justice through prosecution -- if they believe a crime was committed -- and showing mercy for a boy who must live with his fatal mistake for the rest of his life, legal experts said.
The decisions made by prosecutors in the coming weeks will be driven by facts, including the actual circumstances of the case, as well as the legal responsibility of a 13-year-old boy, said Abe Laeser, a former prosecutor who worked 36 years at the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.
Many of the facts of the case haven't been made public.
What is known is that around 9:15 a.m. on Aug. 22, Jonathan shot and killed his mother, Kelly Ann Rowles, 39, inside their condominium, the Collier County Sheriff's Office reported.
The agency maintains the shooting was accidental, but hasn't said why investigators believe that.
Jonathan was arrested on a manslaughter warrant on Sept. 24, and is being held in a juvenile detention center. The State Attorney's Office will decide whether to formally charge him with a crime. His arraignment is slated for Nov. 8.
There will be no other arrests in the case, the Sheriff's Office reported.
"These are very, very difficult cases legally," Laeser said. "Just because you have a gun in your hand and it goes off, doesn't necessarily make it manslaughter. There is a lot of case law that says you've got to have something more."
That "something more" is reckless conduct or gross negligence. If prosecutors believe a crime was committed and the case meets legal standards, Laeser said Jonathan should be charged "if that's the usual course."
His age and other circumstances can be factors in sentencing. Laeser said the case almost certainly would be handled in juvenile court.
George Tragos, a criminal defense lawyer in the Tampa area and the former chief of the criminal division for the State Attorney's Office in Pinellas County, said prosecutors will need to make a value judgment when it comes to charging a 13-year-old boy with a crime as serious as manslaughter. Jonathan's maturity will be a factor.
"There are some 13-year-olds that commit murder. ... 13-year-olds that deal drugs. Then there are 13-year-olds that are still playing with toy soldiers," said George Tragos, a criminal defense lawyer in the Tampa area
"Does a 13-year-old boy have the ability to know that he is doing something that is recklessly disregarding human life?" Tragos asked.
While stories of children killing others or being killed by guns are always tragic, they aren't necessarily uncommon.
In December 2008, 14-year-old Colton Hutchinson was accidentally shot and killed by his 12-year-old friend inside the 12-year-old's Cape Coral, Fla., home. In November 2009, 14-year-old Samantha Jo Meerbott was accidentally shot and killed while visiting a friend's home near Homestead, Fla.
In cases like these, the prosecutor's role is to see that justice is done, said Naples-based attorney Shannon McFee, noting that the definition of what is just in a particular case varies from person to person.
But when dealing with a child, McFee said compassion should be a key component of the case. Accidents and tragedies happen, he said.
"It doesn't make it any easier on the victim's family, but that doesn't mean that the system has to compound the tragedy by making someone suffer for the very act, which by its very nature is considered an accident," McFee said. "What worse punishment can a child be given than to know that he killed his mother? Everything else pales in comparison."
For his part, Jonathan most likely will need a lifetime of healing, a Florida therapist said. In the short term, he likely will struggle with guilt, anger, his identity, and how he is perceived by family and friends.
But, with proper help, Jonathan can overcome these burdens.
"I definitely think that there's a lot of individuals in the world who have the ability to overcome the most unthinkable experiences; horrible, traumatic, beyond imagination," said Kim Rodgers, a licensed social worker and therapist who works regularly with children and adolescents. "People can overcome that and become better people because of that; learn from it."
(Ryan Mills is a reporter for the Naples Daily News in Florida.)
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