The attorney for a 16-year-old Bloomington resident charged with murder says his case spotlights the injustice of Indiana’s law that requires prosecutors to charge 16- to 18-year-olds as adults in severe cases.
Bloomington attorney Kitty Liell represents De'Angelo Tashean Princeton Tolliver Edwards. Tolliver Edwards was arrested and charged with four felonies last week in the shooting death of 18-year-old Keisha Huntington during an attempted robbery.
Tolliver Edwards is currently an inmate at the Monroe County Jail, where visitors are prohibited because of COVID-19. That includes legal counsel, and Liell said the restrictions pose a unique challenge.
“The next step is trying to figure out how to meet with them," she said. "How to get to the jail, when is the jail gonna open up? What are you know, what's the latest in terms of what do we need to do to communicate with him?”
Liell says Indiana’s law that requires adolescents who commit some felonies to be tried in adult court ( IC 31-30-1-4) doesn’t take into account the fact that teens’ brains aren’t yet fully developed.
“There's a reason why we have a juvenile justice system, and it works very well. So unfortunately, we are in adult court, and one of my challenges will be to try to tell a 16-year-old what that means.”
The case is scheduled for a jury trial in November.
