Pitt Expert on Juvenile Justice System Available to Comment on Outcome of Jordan Brown Decertification Hearing

PITTSBURGH-Prosecutors and defense attorneys are scheduled to argue today in a hearing that will determine whether 12-year-old murder suspect Jordan Brown will be tried as an adult or a juvenile.

Brown, who was 11 at the time of the incident, is accused in last year's shooting death of Kenzie Houk, 26, his father's fiancée. Houk was 8 months pregnant at the time, and Brown is also charged in the death of the fetus. The deaths occurred in Lawrence County.

If kept in criminal court and convicted of murder, Brown will be the youngest person in the world serving a life sentence without an opportunity for parole.

Pitt professor of social work Jeffrey Shook has researched the intersection of law, policy, and practice in the lives of children and is currently studying the experiences of young people behind bars. Shook is available to comment on:

o How the decertification process works;

o Issues the judge is likely to consider;

o What Brown will face if he is tried as an adult;

o The consequences of life in prison for a young person; and

o Why Pennsylvania has more children in prison than any other state.

Shook coauthored "Childhood, Youth, and Social Work in Transformation" (Columbia University Press, 2009) and has published a number of journal articles on juvenile offenders and the juvenile justice system.

For a list of Pitt faculty experts, visit www.umc.pitt.edu/m/experts.html.

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