At age 15 years, the petitioner "M.S.A." was living full time with their father and stepmother. The father was away at a work event. M.S.A. began to argue with the stepmother after returning home late, which had become a regular source of conflict in the family. The argument escalated to the point that M.S.A. tried to leave the home. When the stepmother blocked the door holding a baseball bat, M.S.A. grabbed the bat from her and began attacking her with it. The stepmother attempted to use her phone. M.S.A. knocked the phone from her hands and continued to attack her until she lost consciousness. Instead of calling for help, M.S.A. then tried to cover up what happened. Police arrived while M.S.A. was trying to hide the bat. The stepmother died from the injuries.

M.S.A. was charged with murder in adult criminal court via direct file. In their state, the statutory exclusion for murder was for juveniles aged 16 years and above. At trial, M.S.A. (at that time known as the "defendant") claimed self-defense. They said that the stepmother had been abusive in the past and that no one believed M.S.A. about prior incidents, including the father. M.S.A. says that knocking the phone away was out of panic and fear that the police would only arrest M.S.A., not the stepmother. The prosecution noted there was no evidence of investigation of the stepmother for possible abuse, nor did anyone report witnessing abusive behavior. The jury convicted M.S.A., who then appealed the ruling. The state court of appeals upheld the conviction.

M.S.A. is currently in prison serving a mandatory life sentence for their murder conviction. For M.S.A., the sentence includes a possibility of parole after serving 40 years. An adult would have had no option for parole. Regardless, the legal team for M.S.A. has petitioned the state supreme court for relief, claiming that the case should not have been tried in adult criminal court. They say that the sentence was "cruel and unusual" for a 15-year-old without the reasoning ability of a grown adult, and that a juvenile court would not have set such a long period before parole eligibility.

• Was it proper for the prosecution to charge M.S.A. as an adult? In at least one complete paragraph, explain why it was or was not, as well as what sentence M.S.A. should receive. Support your ruling with information from the lesson and the scenario.

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The decision to charge MSA as an adult is a complex and controversial one On one hand MSA committed ... View the full answer