As many probably know, there was an incident at Fort Colville Elementary School on Feb 7. A handgun and a knife were seized from two students who had together had planned to kill another student and possibly others. The plan was thwarted by the willingness of a fourth grade boy to tell someone that he had seen another boy with a knife on the bus.

In Washington, children under age 8 are deemed not to have the capacity to form the mental intent necessary to be held criminally accountable for what they do. Between ages 8 and 12, there is a presumption that children do not have that capacity, but it is only a presumption. From age 12 to 18 children are deemed to have the capacity to form the necessary mental intent and so can be held criminally accountable in Juvenile Court. It can be extended in some cases to age 21, but that is very rare.

This presumption of incapacity can be overcome by evidence regarding the presence of certain factors. The law requires the court to consider factors like whether the nature of the act is such that a child of the age would inherently know it was wrong. Another factor is the actual age and maturity of the child. Another is whether the child tried to keep it secret. There are others, but they all go toward the goal of deciding whether the child was able to understand that what he or she was doing was wrong and so be held accountable in Juvenile Court. There is a lot more to it that that, but that is the general idea.

There will be a capacity hearing on the 20th in Juvenile Superior Court in this case. At that hearing, the state will present evidence regarding the factors set out in the law and will argue to the court that the evidence is such that the children should be held accountable in Juvenile Court.

There has been a lot of attention given to violence in the schools as a result of the recent tragedies across the nation. All thinking and caring people are concerned about how to make schools safe and protect innocent lives. There was a public meeting about this situation at Colville High School on Feb 13, which was attended by about 200 people. Many good suggestions were made and will be considered by the School District to improve safety of school children and communication with the families during emergencies.

In response to these tragic events in our country, Fort Colville Elementary had instituted a program called “See something, Say Something.” The purpose of the program is to try to instill in youngsters the idea that if they see another student with a weapon or a serious problem they should report it to a teacher or another adult. This program works. The proof is that this plan was foiled and we should thank God that no child lost their life or was hurt.