Jeffrey Hall, of Riverside, California, was part of the National Socialist Movement. He was abusive to his 10-year-old son Joseph, his other three children and their stepmother. He was killed by the boy earlier this year, a publicized trial following. Hall's 11-year-old daughter, the sister of the juvenile defendant, originally testified that the murder occurred under the direction of the stepmother. However, her latest appearance in court revealed Joseph Hall had planned to kill his father 4 days prior to the incident.
As we also
reported earlier, he thought he couldn't get in trouble for the murder because he had seen an episode of the CBS series Criminal Minds, in which a character got away with it.
The prosecution's last witness was a psychologist that explained the little boy knew exactly what he was doing.
“He did know he was wrong (to shoot his father), he said it in many ways, including that night,” Anna Salter said in her statement.
Salter's testimony comes after a court-appointed expert could not give a definite answer about the boy's mental state.
“I think [the boy] has a tragic history. I think he has had a tragic upbringing. [...] I don't think [he] is a hopeless case,” she says.
"He said he just wanted to end the father-son thing," Salter testified, according to
LA Times.
During the trial, Riverside County prosecutor Ambrosio Rodriguez has told the court that the young boy had a history of violence, being kicked out of more than one school by the age of 8.
SCPR notes that he will be asking for a punishment that will allow rehabilitation later on, were the boy convicted.
“We really take seriously, the dual role of protecting others from possible harm from [him]. But we also take seriously the need to find help for [him],” Rodriguez clarifies.
“This isn’t just some 25-year-old we want to lock up for life without the possibility of parole. We understand that we’re dealing with a 10-year-old boy. And, he should have the opportunity for redemption,” he adds.
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