Appeals court upholds decision to try girls charged in Slender Man stabbings as adults
A Wisconsin appeals court has upheld prosecutors’ decision to try two girls as adults for stabbing a friend 19 times to please the fictional Slender Man character.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday, report the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Courthouse News Service.
The two accused girls were 12 at the time of the attack in May 2014. At issue is their eligibility for a juvenile adjudication under a Wisconsin law that says children above the age of 10 should be tried in adult court in cases of intentional homicide and attempted intentional homicide, unless they show they are entitled to a “reverse waiver.”
The statute allows a reverse waiver in specific circumstances. They include situations in which the juvenile can’t receive adequate treatment in the criminal justice system, and juvenile court jurisdiction would not depreciate the serious of the offense.
The appeals court upheld the decision by Judge Michael Bohren of Waukesha County, who found that prosecuting the girls as juveniles would “unduly depreciate the seriousness of the offense.” Bohren said the stabbing was a premeditated murder attempt in which the girls made a conscious decision to leave the victim and let her die. She survived.
Bohren also questioned whether one of the accused girls would receive adequate mental health treatment and oversight after age 18.
The girls could face up to 60 years in prison in adult court, but are generally subject to state oversight only to age 18 if found delinquent in juvenile court, the appellate opinion said.
Updated on August 11 to correct a typo in which “adult” was used instead of “juvenile.”
