Judge to decide fate of boy who killed neo-Nazi dad at age 10

It was over in an instant for Jeff Hall, but sorting out the fate of his troubled son has been a 2½-year journey that approached its final stage Friday in a hearing to determine where he will spend his teens and, possibly, his early adult years.

The judge hearing the case must decide not how to punish a child for second-degree murder, but how to rehabilitate someone who grew up in an abusive home, attacked his school teachers and was indoctrinated in the beliefs of white supremacy.

He has been living in the county's juvenile hall since the killing, but spent about three months at a state youth detention center where he was evaluated to see whether a placement there could serve his needs.

He attends classes, gets regular therapy and has made progress in controlling the violent outbursts that got him kicked out of almost every school he attended. He has even, with time, won the affection of the prosecutor who got him convicted.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Soccio believes the boy, now 13, will do best in the state's juvenile justice system, where he will go to school and live in a dormlike setting at a high-security facility for young offenders, possibly until age 23.

Defense attorneys, however, say the teen has serious emotional disabilities that the state is not equipped to handle. They want to see him placed in a residential treatment center, where security will be lighter and the therapy more intense.

Hall's killing attracted national attention when it happened on May 1, 2011.

Hall, an out-of-work plumber, was also a regional leader of the National Socialist Movement who organized neo-Nazi rallies.

Prosecutors said the boy shot his father behind the ear at point-blank range as he slept on the sofa after coming home from a night of drinking. He took the .357 Magnum from his parents' bedroom and later told police he was afraid he would have to choose between living with his father and his stepmother, who had been fighting and were headed for a divorce.

His stepmother initially told police she had killed her husband, but later recanted and said she was trying to protect her stepson. His sister testified that he told her of his plan the day before, while they were playing on a swing set.

During the trial, the boy's defense attorney portrayed him as a victim of both his father's racist beliefs and of his violent upbringing.

His stepmother told authorities that Hall had hit, kicked and yelled at his son for being too loud or getting in the way. Hall and the boy's mother had each accused the other of child abuse multiple times during a protracted custody dispute. Social service workers visited 20 times but never removed the boy or his siblings from Hall's custody.

The child also had a history of being expelled from school for violent outbursts, starting at age 5 when he stabbed a teacher with a pencil on the first day of kindergarten. He also tried to strangle a teacher with a telephone cord.

Source: JapanTimes