Curtis Fairchild Jones (born May 31, 1986), now a
Christian minister
In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidanc ...
, is the youngest person in the United States to have been
tried as an adult
Trial as an adult is a situation in which a juvenile offender is tried as if they were an adult, whereby they may receive a longer or more serious sentence than would otherwise be possible if they were charged as a juvenile.
While there are spec ...
and convicted of murder at the time of his conviction.
Jones was born in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
.
He was about 12 years of age at the time of his conviction.
Curtis was convicted of second-degree murder during 1999 along with his 13-year-old sister, Catherine Jones, and subsequently incarcerated in jail in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. He was released from
South Bay Correctional Facility on July 28, 2015.
Background
While most states in the US typically try juveniles under the age of 18 in a separate juvenile court, there is a legal precedent of the age of majority being considered lower for some heinous crimes. For example, in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, the lowest age a juvenile may be tried as an adult, no matter how heinous the crime, is 14. The trial and subsequent conviction of a 12-year-old in the US is considered a rare (but not unique) case.
References
External links
South Bay Correctional Facility
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Curtis
Living people
1986 births
American clergy