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A controversial court case came to an end today as a Riverside judge sentenced a 13-year-old boy to serve at least seven years in state juvenile prison for the murder of his neo-Nazi father. The boy was 10 at the time when he shot and killed Jeffrey Hall, 32, and was found guilty of second-degree murder in January.However, Riverside Superior Court Judge Jean Leonard ruled that the maximum age the child could serve prison would be until he was 23, and would be up for parole in seven years, according to Associated Press.
Hall had been drinking and fell asleep on his couch on May 1, 2011, when his son took a single shot to his head with a .357 Magnum belonging to his parents. The boy had told police his parents were looking to get divorced and he was afraid he'd have to choose between living with father or stepmother; also, he was "tired of his dad hitting him and his mom."
The child's attorneys argued that he was raised in an brutally abusive household, which left him with serious emotional disabilities, including violent outbursts. Hall was the regional director of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement group, and had hosted a group meeting at his home the night before he was shot, reported CBS Los Angeles.
The attorneys and judge have been discussing for months where to send the boy to protect him from himself and others in case he becomes violent again. District Attorney Michael Soccio read a letter that the boy's grandmother had written before the closing arguments. The Riverside Press Enterprise reported:
“As a family, we have called the last 21/2 years our walk through hell. There are three little girls who miss their daddy everyday,” the letter said. “The only way his death can make sense is if (the boy) gets the help he so desperately needs. He needs both quality and secure placement."
