Three boys -- one of them 15, the other two 12 -- meet in a park in the neighborhood where they live in Cromwell, Ind., a small town halfway between South Bend and Fort Wayne. They play in the park for a while, then begin talking about a subject they've been discussing for a couple of weeks now -- running away, out west to California. or maybe to Arizona. The only problem, according to 15-year-old Colt Lundy, is that his stepfather will never allow it. He'll stop them from going. The answer to the problem, Colt says, is simple. They must kill Phil Danner and in the twinkle of an eye, an afternoon at the playground turned into conspiracy to commit murder.
After leaving the playground, the boys walk to Colt Lundy's house. Colt goes in alone and finds his step-father there already, in the family room. Colt goes into his bedroom and moves the blinds, signaling for the two 12-year-olds waiting across the street -- Paul and Chase Williams -- to come over. The plan is for either Paul or Chase to join Colt inside and help him carry out the deed. Paul and Chase talk as they cross the street about who should go in. At first, Chase says he will but thinks better of it. Paul goes.
Now Paul Henry Gingerich says, "I think I should have gone home," as the 14 year old is in jail for killing his friend’s step father who his friend perceived would not let the three of them run away from home to California. He arrived at Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility, the state's maximum security prison for children to serve his term two years ago. Each boy received 25 years, with the possibility of getting in out in about half the time for good behavior. They would still be young men, but jail raised men.
I feel sorry for both boys and their families. It reminds me of what I read a long time ago, that little boys have a very diminished sense of fear and danger causing them to do things girls won't do. This is exactly what made these young, immature boys with still growing brains do what they did and end up where they are.
They have found out the hard way as the Yoruba proverb states, "What comes after the number six, is more than the number seven." I guess in their little minds, they thought killing the step dad was the solution to their problem and not the beginning of a much much bigger self induced problem for them and their families.
However, as much as I feel for them about the situation, reading the story reminds me of the many children and men of color in different criminal “situations” including jails and juvenile facilities all over the US that need a bloggers, journalists and lawyers to take up their cases, but that probably won’t happen for most of them, because it’s just the way it is…
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