‘Slender Man’: Lawyers for Anissa Weier Argue the Case Should be Moved to Juvenile Court
Lawyers for one of the two suspects in the Slender Man stabbing case in Wisconsin are presenting arguments that their client Anissa Weier should be tried in juvenile court instead of adult court, Yahoo News reports.
Weier and her friend Morgan Geyser, who were 12 at the time of the stabbing, were charged as adults with attempted first-degree homicide in the May 2014 attack on a classmate. The attack occurred in Waukesha, Wisconsin, which is near Milwaukee. The two said they were trying to please the fictional Internet character, Slender Man.
Weier's attorneys have asked that the case against her be moved to juvenile court. The attorneys must prove to Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren that Weier would not receive proper treatment in the adult justice system, moving the case to juvenile court would not downplay the seriousness of the crime and that a juvenile case would not lessen the deterrent for Weier to commit similar crimes.
Both Weier and Geyser could serve up to 60 years in prison if they are convicted as adults in the attack. If they are charged as juveniles, they could be imprisoned up to age 25.
Prosecutors say that Weier and Geyser invited their 12-year-old classmate to a sleepover. The next day they led her to the woods where they stabbed her 19 times. The victim survived the attack and was able to return to school in the fall.
The law in Wisconsin states that a case must begin in adult court if it involves juveniles that are 10 years or older and are charged with first-degree attempted homicide.
Attorneys for Weier asked jail staff members to describe her to the court. They called her a well-behaved teenager.
"If all of our juveniles were like her, our job would be incredibly easy," Nicole Sakac, a juvenile detention manager at the Washington County jail said.
In court on Tuesday, Weier looked like she was taking notes as she sat between her attorneys.
Geyser will have a similar trial in June to determine if her case will be tried in juvenile court.
Geyser's family has created a Change.org petition asking that she receive mental health treatment while she is in jail, according to Milwaukee's WISN. More than 1,800 people have signed the petition.
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