Case Of 6-Year-Old Sent To Court For Picking A Tulip Sparks Outrage Over US Justice System

A pink tulip and small person in a jail cell

Photo via Benjamin D. Esham/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 US), pxfuel

March 24, 2021, 1:01 pm

A recent case out of the juvenile justice system in North Carolina is shocking people into a discussion of where this system is going and what it’s doing to children as young as six years old. One such child was charged with “injury to real property” and hauled before a judge because he picked a tulip out of someone’s yard while waiting at a school bus stop.

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A recent opinion piece highlighting this case while arguing against putting young children through the system was featured in a popular tweet.

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“A six-year-old showed up in juvenile court, charged with injury to real property. His alleged crime? Picking a tulip from a yard by his bus stop in North Carolina. The state allows children as young as six to be prosecuted, the lowest age in the nation.” Charlotte News-Observer

— NewMexican, Ex-Texan (@OGrady_Texas) March 17, 2021

“The 6-year-old dangled his legs above the floor as he sat at the table with his defense attorney, before a North Carolina judge,” wrote Virginia Bridges.

“He was accused of picking a tulip from a yard at his bus stop, his attorney Julie Boyer said, and he was on trial in juvenile court for injury to real property.”

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Thankfully, the judge quickly dismissed the case. However, advocates for children in the justice system say that by the time a little kid has seen a judge, the damage has already been done. Not only will the charge remain on the child’s record, being labeled as a criminal has a lasting impact on kids too young to understand why they’re being punished for picking a flower.

“A 6-year-old cannot comprehend what is taking place in court, but probably will never forget being labeled a delinquent,” said district attorney for Durham County Satana Deberry.

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Of the 20 states that set a specified minimum age at which kids can be put through the juvenile justice system, North Carolina has the lowest at age six. But according to Bridges, children don’t have the mental capacity necessary to understand the complexities of the system until much older than that — “even at 10, 11 and some 14-year-olds.”

“Should a child that believes in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy be making life-altering decisions?” posed New Hanover County Chief District Court Judge Jay Corpening.

There are also stark racial disparities plaguing every state’s juvenile justice system, with white children enjoying a much higher likelihood of being turned over to parents outside of the system when they misbehave or make mistakes.

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This case has fueled a renewed call to keep all children, and especially young children, out of the justice system.

I have a 6 year old. Picking a tulip from the neighbor is a teaching opportunity that does not need to involve the courts. I bet the little one i a Black child. They are the ones who are not allowed to be children.

— Maria Swanson (@ZezeSwanson) March 17, 2021

Even w/full story being blocked to non-subscribers it’s clear there’s something terribly wrong in a criminal justice system that allows a charge like this against a child. Is this 19th C England? or 1800s America? What jurisdiction is this? @TheJusticeDept @JoshStein_ @NCAGO

— YafaChaya (@suehallie) March 17, 2021

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