Expert says it’s likely Clinton County teen won’t be charged with murder

A suspect remained in custody Tuesday at a juvenile detention center in connection with the death of a Breese teen, said Clinton County Sheriff Doug Maue.

Maue said 18-year-old Jacob J. Arter of Breese “succumbed to his injuries” early Sunday morning after he was battered at a private clubhouse in rural Clinton County. Arter, a senior at Central Community High School in Breese, was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Hospital at 2:24 a.m. Sunday, according to Coroner Phillip Moss.

The male juvenile suspect remained in custody in a Southern Illinois juvenile detention center as of Tuesday morning, the sheriff said, though he could not specify which one and did not provide the suspect’s age. Published reports have said the suspect is 17.

The sheriff’s department took the suspect into custody after Arter’s death.

A special prosecutor will handle the case at the request of State’s Attorney John Hudspeth, who is related to the suspect. The special prosecutor could not immediately be reached Tuesday.

Juvenile court records are not open to the public. And there have been no recent charges of first-degree murder filed against any adults in Clinton County. Steven Drizin, a law professor at Northwestern University whose expertise includes juvenile law, said it’s therefore probably safe to assume that, at least for now, the 17-year-old is being charged in juvenile court with a lesser offense, such as involuntary manslaughter or aggravated battery. Drizin said the assumption can be made because under Illinois law, the cases of 16- or 17-year-olds charged with murder are automatically transferred to adult court.

“It’s a pretty safe bet that, as of now, they’re not charging him with murder,” said Drizin, who recently won a new trial for Brendan Dassey in the “Making A Murderer” case.

The details of what happened at the party aren’t yet clear. But Drizin said he doesn’t think a charge of first-degree murder would be appropriate in the Clinton County case.

“It shouldn’t be charged as murder because he didn’t intend to kill him, and death was not foreseeable, nor was it a natural consequence of his actions,” Drizin said. “It would be one thing if he threw a punch and then kicked him and punched him multiple times when he was on the ground. But these kinds of things happen every weekend in every city across the state of Illinois, and the only thing unusual here is that the young man died as a result of the punch.”

He added, “It would be extremely unusual to charge him with first-degree murder in a case like this. It can be done, but based on the facts that you’ve given me, that would be a case of — in my mind — overcharging, in an attempt to get a plea deal to a lesser offense in criminal court.”

A juvenile who is found guilty in juvenile court can be sentenced to a term in juvenile prison, up to his 21st birthday. A juvenile convicted of first-degree murder, in adult court, would be sentenced to at least 20 years in prison.

“The stakes are high,” Drizin said.

Drizin noted that prosecutors could, later on, seek to file a murder charge or ask a grand jury to decide later whether to issue a murder charge. “There’s no statute of limitations on the charge of murder,” he said.

Or, prosecutors could seek to have a different type of charge, such as aggravated battery or manslaughter, transferred to adult court. To have that type of charge transferred to adult court, the prosecution would have to file a motion asking for the transfer, and a judge would have to approve it — it’s not an automatic transfer, as would happen in a murder case. The automatic transfers apply only to juveniles age 16 or 17 charged with murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated battery with a firearm.

Drizin noted that, prior to 2014, 17-year-olds in Illinois were considered adults, and not even eligible for juvenile court. He said a number of states have raised the cutoff age for juvenile court.

“Teenagers do not assess and weigh the risks of their actions as well as adults and do not foresee the long-term consequences of their actions. They can easily be pressured by peers and older adults,” Drizin said. “Their brains are not fully developed in the areas that govern decision-making and impulse control.”

He added, “They don’t have the same braking systems that mature adults have when a bad idea enters our minds. And when you throw alcohol in the mix, it only exacerbates their deficits and makes it more likely they will act impulsively. This does not excuse their actions – he needs to be punished because his actions led to a loss of life. But he is less culpable for his actions than a similarly situated adult.”

Pathologists worked Tuesday to determine how Arter died — a process that could take “several weeks,” according to Mark Moss, Clinton County deputy coroner.

An autopsy was completed Monday afternoon, but the preliminary results were unavailable Tuesday morning, the deputy coroner said.

The coroner was unavailable for comment.

Visitations for Arter were scheduled for 4-8 p.m. Wednesday and 8:30-10 a.m. Thursday at Moss Funeral Home in Breese. A funeral service was scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

This story was originally published April 25, 2017 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Expert says it’s likely Clinton County teen won’t be charged with murder."