It's amazing that people are commenting on here that she had a bad life and needs us to baby her...although due to her actions someone is dead.
Yet, on the story of the bully, who DIDN'T kill someone, you're out for blood.
Right.

Oh, and devioushb, please read the post I was responding to. If you want to take things out of context, have a ball, but leave me out of it.

The information I have read on here does not change my mind. She is not an adult and therefore should not be charged as one. She has seen more catastrophies in life then anyone could imagine. Again, she may have supplied the drug, but the boys chose to take them. They could have told their parents or just thrown them away. From hearing and reading about Alex's life, it seems he had problems also. Maybe he tried to kill himself, did anyone think of that? If not, it still should not be on this "childs" shoulders as to what he did. JMO

I can not find anything archived but do know that their was alot written at the time. Devin's last name was also Brown and he passed in Sept. of 2004 on Stone Farm Road in Fulton township. I also know that things were different for everyone before this accident. These two kids always had everything material they could ever want...but after Devin was gone she needed something more..The whole thing is really sad. And also a correction to be known,Devin was 6 not 7,sorry.

facebooker09: Your statement is wrong, at least in my case. No matter the age of the one giving out the pills, the one voluntarily ingesting them also needs to be held accountable. That is why I disagree with this Len Bias law.

**truthbtold** Thank you for the story. I have seen a lot posted on here about her family and now I know that was way more to this mess! Gosh, that poor girl should have been under a professional's care when that happened. What is wrong with that mother....but then that has been posted on here too!! Hopefully, she will now get the help that she needs. Thanks again for the insight!

She needs to be punished for handing out dangerous drugs. I also believe the death is a sad thing but as many stated he did chose to take them.

The other little boy dying in the street. Also terrible tragedy.


Moms DON'T let your kids play in the street. NO, not even for a second!!! Especially on a country road!

To date, there's no extensive research comparing the lengths of prison sentences received by juveniles convicted in criminal court with those who remained in the juvenile system. What research exists indicates that juveniles convicted in criminal court, particularly serious and violent offenders, are more likely to be incarcerated and receive longer sentences than juveniles retained in the juvenile system. Despite this, however, they often actually serve only a fraction of the sentences imposed, in many cases less time than they would have served in a juvenile facility.

A 1996 Texas study found that juveniles sentenced in adult court did receive longer terms than they would have received in juvenile court. However, for all offenses except rape, the average prison time actually served was only about 27 percent of the sentence imposed, in some cases shorter than the possible sentence length in a juvenile facility.[1]

In a study of the sentences received by youth offenders in New York and New Jersey, researcher Jeffrey Fagan came to similar conclusions. He found that adolescents transferred to criminal court were more likely to be convicted and sentenced to periods of incarceration than those adjudicated in the juvenile system. However, all juveniles sentenced to incarceration received nearly identical sentence length, regardless of whether they were tried in the criminal or the juvenile system.

If she was 18, 25 or 40 you would all want her to be in jail for the rest of her life but shes 14 so let it pass this time?? Wake up people!!!

i agree alawyer!! Alex's parents want justice? There is no justice, thier kid made a bad choice and paid the ultimate price. If he wasnt getting them from her, he would have been from someone else. He certainly wasnt as innocent as they first claimed!! Snorting a crushed pill...that is not a first time drug experimentation that is forsure!

If I told you to jump off a cliff knowing the possibilty you could die and I didnt threaten you or force you to do it but you did it anyway am I responsible for your death? I dont think so! You have a mind of your own, I didnt force you to make that stupid decision, heck it could have been just a dare and you should have known the concequences. Comeon people, give me a break! This is a 14 yr old who yes needs help and locking her up for the rest of her life wont bring back the boy or teach her anything. Most people who are locked up get worse. I feel bad for the family but she didnt threaten the boy or twist his arm. He had a mind of his own and should have known the dangers of taking the pills. I agree there are people who do more hanis crimes that get off and should be locked up for yrs. I also agree this girl has a troublesome life and she needs help to change, not crucifiction and people out to see her hang!

yada: According to today's (Friday) edition of the Gazette. the girl was given the maximum sentence: five years in state custody with up to three of those years in a state facility for juvenile offenders.

First of all, thank you FRANK SCHULTZ OF the Gazette for your comment. That should clear up some of the comments made here. I would like to see a different type of letter casing used by the Gazette when the the person who wrote the story adds comments. Often you will have information that we don't and it would be nice to be able to see those comments easily. Regarding the girl going back to juvenile court - wondering what is the maximum penalty in the juvenile system for her.

Got to love O'Leary on the news tonight. He basically said "next time, she's really going to be in trouble". What a joke. Sounds like he put her on Double Secret Probation or something.
.
Will somebody please run against this simpleton O'Leary in the next election....anybody? I'm sooooo sick of lazy plea agreement after lazy plea agreement.

Whats really sad is that the family of Alex will complain to the Gazette and have this thread pulled again. :-(

Here's a news flash for a lot of you BTW - kids don't think of drug distribution in the same way as adults. I'm not talking about the kids in the inner cities who sell their wares. Most kids share and trade drugs routinely and they are all equal participants. They give eachother cigarettes (something which doesn't lead to an immediate death but with certainly lead to death with 20 or 30 years). They help one another binge drink. Someone always has to pick up the six pack or procure the liquor from Dad's cabinet. So grabbing some pills from the medicine cabinet doesn't seem like a big deal. I can almost imagine what happened here. These kids have all apparently been experimenting for sometime - including the dead boy (sorry to his mom for her loss but she is more responsible than the little girl). Let's imagine what happened that night - Boy A arranged for Boy B to come over to his house for the night and got the girl to bring over her pills since she found the stash in her grandparent's medicine cabinet. Sounded like a fun time to her so she grabbed the pills and came over. Boy B overdosed - he apparently had a resistence after using drugs previously and decided to snort directly. None of the kids believed that they could die and being friends who apparently routinely experimented with drugs together, they certainly were not thinking about harming one another. Sure - they heard all the stuff from adults and knew it was taboo - that's what made it so darn cool. They were doing something wrong and they knew it - and it was just as illegal for the boys to ask the girl to distribute the drugs to them as it was for her to do so -they were equal participants in what happened. Likely they had plenty of incidents where one kid found some stuff and shared it - maybe the boy brought the glue last week. All the kids had problems, but the girl's was most overt - she was taking drugs to mask the horror that she faced as a young child of seeing her brother die in front of her. Now she has been labled a murderer because she participated in recreational drug use with a couple of other kids - and because one of the kids was more reckless than the others in the amount that he ingested. Seriously folks. The law is an ass. And you may find it hard to believe, but I knew plenty of kids who experimented with drugs as kids - they outgrew it and became doctors and lawyers and engineers.

The kids had just gone back to school and Jill had come across a good deal at Wal-mart that day. A big above ground pool that they still had time to enjoy as the weather was still super hot. They were renting a farm house out on Stone Farm Road in Edgerton. The owners of the farm had come by to do the evening chores and Jill was setting up the pool for the kids. Devin was seven but had a slight case of autism and was the sweetest boy you could have ever met. He always had a big smile for you and a hug to share..that day he followed the boys on the tractor out of the driveway while on his trike..he was planning on just going out a little bit and then zooming back into the driveway..Ashlee and Jill were both there..when a guy and his girlfriend were speeding down the road and couldn't see becuase of the setting sun. He hit and killed Devin going over 50 MPH..and Ashlee had to see this...Ashlee loved her gymnastics and always had a flip or a cartwheel for us...then the light from her eyes just faded....we lost her that day too...

This is a bogus decision. The boy apparently had just as much experience with the drugs as the little girl. His parents and hers did a lousy job of supervision - dangerous drugs of this nature should not be left in the medicine cabinet. But the saddest part of this story is this poor little girl - unlike the purported victim - had a reason for her drug abuse - she witnessed the traumatic death of a sibling and likely has dealt with survivor guilt. Instead of the hicks in your town getting her the counseling she needed the first time she acted out, she was arrested and thrown into a school for bad kids. Now, instead of accepting responsibility as adults for teenage drug abuse in your town, you are sending a 14 year old girl to prison for several years on a garbage charge. She got no trial and had no real legal representation. Any adult would have had a better chance in front of the jury but Wiconsin DAs have a huge club in their arsenal - they can charge a young child as an adult and extract a guilty plea out of terror - the sheer terror of several years being abused in an adult prison. This was not a homicide case - it was a tragic accident of three kids playing a dangerous game - the age old game of kids taking intoxicants. How easy to blame the one kid and call the other two victims - and how completely bogus. The parents of the dead boy want someone to blame? Look in the mirror! Your kid already knew how to snort drugs at 13 - he likely was already smoking and using other drugs. He would have been dead in a few years anyway because you as parents never were big enough to take responsibility for his behavior - so likely he wouldn't have either. Go ahead and heap your courtroom statement and guilt on an already traumatized little girl. Call her a "serious" youth offender when she is a drug abuser - who is self medicating to deal with the trauma of seeing a sibling run down in front of her. What sort of monsters live in your town that you would send this kid to a brutal youth prison environment of a trumped up charge?

Yes, this is true. Testing my memory, but I want to say 2-3 years ago.

As people will read, she did get the maximum for a juvenile. It is a sad situation all the way around, but hopefully she will finally take life seriously and take the help she is offered and make a better life for herself. She just turned 14 and yes, it is old enough to make better choices than she made, but without help after what happened to her brother and the lifestyle she has lived in, she is not the first to turn to drugs and alcohol to help her through it all. Don't get me wrong...I don't condone by any means. Hope this mother can come to terms after what could have been the loss of a second child (in a way, it is as she will come out an adult) that maybe she should get some help too. As a parent of a child involved in what Ashlee has been in 14 short years, she has to put some blame on herself and realize she needs to open her eyes.

What is all of this stuff about this gal's younger brother being ran over by a car? Is this true? I can't seem to find any stories about this. Anyone know anything? Just wondering how all of this ties together and this seems to be one more piece to the puzzle.

Devious and Sarah I agree with some of your statements.I think some responsibility lies with all parties involved.Apparently the young boy had done this before as he took a couple pills and then snorted one. That was in the previous article. I am far from the perfect parent and my kids got by me nore then once.

I know plenty of people who have had bad role models growing up, they grew up fine. Yes, parents have a huge affect on people. However its still not an excuse, she is a 14 year old, that is more than old enough to KNOW right from wrong.

If any of you had a clue as to the life this girl has had maybe you would look at it different. Do you know her parents well I do and I will not go into their lifestyle here but before you judge someone please take a walk in their shoes as this 14 year old girl hasn't had the best role models in her life. She lost her brother right in front of her Devin was hit and killed on a country road and i don't think leaving a child untreated to that type of trama helped her heal and understand why. yes she needs to be held accountable and I am grateful they took her back to juvenile court (but her name has been made public and they should have held off releasing it until they decided if she would remain in juvenile court.)Her family never will get justice either for the loss of Devin. to wrongs don't make a right and I pray that this girl gets the help she needs . I just hope all of the ones that look for a the max for this kid don't have to down the road deal with something like this as the parent of Alex OR AS the parent of Ashley. This is a devistating and sad situation BUT it is also a wake up call for parents to know their kids a little more then they think they do.....

Yes, people should be responsible for themselves. Parents are resposible for their kids though.

No matter how you look at this, it's a terrible sad situation. I, however, believe that the girl's parents should share in her punishment. She is only 14. She had already been in trouble for having this PRESCRIPTION drug at school. How could her parents/grandparents be surprised that it happened again?? - this time with deadly consequences. Her parents hold some responsibility in this situation, as do the parents of the victim (who took the drugs himself). It's horrible on all counts for ALL involved. Be thankful it's not you and your family on either side of this.

Thank you justme46!!! And I wonder if anyone is thinking about the speeder who hit Devin that day on Stone Farm Rd? Should we bring him into this as well? Because after all,if he wasn't speeding and hadn't hit her little brother she wouldn't be this messed up and then Alex would still be alive...it's a sad and crazy cycle isn't it? Let's hope that Alex's mother can learn from Ashlee's moms mistakes on how to handle a tragedy,after all these two moms have one thing in common....they both lost a son from someone else's mistake.

I think she deserves to get the max punishment but I also think she needs help. However if she gets help and gets a slap on the wrist, that's not much of a lesson.

abdoolrattan: dust off the electric chair?! REALLY! That's just messed up!

Hopefully this girl will get the help she needs to turn her life around.

fschultz, you are right a juvenile must first be charged as an adult. a hearing must be held to have it moved back into juvenile court. what puzzles me with the knowledge that this hearing is going to take place why didnt the new s media wait to release her name until that decision was made.

Not exactly sure what she is charged with, but it sounds similar to the Len Bias case. WI has a "Len Bias Law" [940.02(2)(a)], that basically makes the doing of the bad thing (providing the drugs) the basis for liability. It takes a mental state out of the crime. She didn't have to force him to do it, or even know that he was going to do it, she simply had to supply him. Would work the same for a juvenile and adult.
That said, I am glad to see this back in Juvenile Court. The girl is 14. The best thing for her may be to get her help, have someone always have a watchful eye over her, and help her graduate from high school, so maybe one day she can be a productive member of society. She might need drug treatment too, probably wouldn't hurt. It is awful for the boy's family, but in my opinion locking her up and throwing away the key isn't going to accomplish anything.

Biggirl, think about it, now there are parents that lost there child because of the girl,also she can be forgiven, but she still needs to face the consiquences. She will be judged by our creator at the end, it does not matter what we think.

Biggirl, obviously she wasn't christian, its not the point of being Christian, its the point that she broke the law.

Nice Christian folks here.

I think she sould be tried as an adult, she is old enough to know what she did wrong.

yes its illegal for a minor or anyone for that matter to distribute drugs, but its also illegal for people to buy other peoples drugs.
The situation goes both ways.

It's a stupid law and should be repealed. People should be responsible for themselves.

Just like the drunk drivers that rack up 6,7,8, and 9 times! Only in Wisconsin!!!

i say dust off the electric chair !!!!

I do not agree with only a slap on the wrist. Ashlee has been getting in trouble for a few years now. But I don't agree with those who say lock her up and throw away the key. This is still a young person who has been dealt a difficult hand in life. We all agree with the poor parenting she's received. But don't forget she also lost her little brother in a terrible child vs car accident several years ago. A trauma like that is difficult enough for an adult to cope with. But being an 8 or 9 year old child when something like this happens. Then not receiving any real support or counseling in the aftermath. I can't say I'm surprised Ashlee has found herself in a mess of legal/drug problems. But she is not the only liable for this tragedy.

Napalm: you're wrong. Churchwell spent quite a few years in a "group home"/detention center. Upon his release,he again got in trouble.

It has still ruined her life. She still did what she did, there's no take-backs or do overs in the game of life!

Now, how do you remove the child's name and photo?

Sandman said "But some of you are on the mark on one count--she likely didn't force the pills into the "victim," and he remains as responsible for his part of the deal as much as she is for hers!"

So because he paid the ultimate price, are you suggesting the supplier also pay the same? It seems that way from what you said...equal punishment for equal responsibility?

I hope whatever time she serves it's enough to keep her away from the drugs in the future. Supplying the drugs that killed a friend certainly should be enough on its own...and I certainly hope it and time served is enough for her.

Is it legal for a 14 year old to posses oxycodone and distribute to other juveniles? Is this a new law I'm not aware of? (sarcasm) Because there's a lot of comparing going on to things that are actually legal.

Unfortunately I agree that this gal is getting it harder than most adults. She did not force the kid to OD, nor was she there. She is a common dealer whose wares killed someone. No different than the barkeep who kept serving someone and the guy left and killed someone driving drunk

We are told that state law requires that for certain serious offenses, the juvenile must first be charged in adult court. -- Gazette reporter Frank Schultz

MIKKI -- so it is okay to drive drunk as long as no one dies. Perfect. My point is they are usually adults and are not held accountable they just keep getting to drive and get tickets. One unfortunate accident and this girl needs to have harsh punishment. What does that prove? You really think that is going to stop all the other kids that share perscription drugs with their friends? They are not following this and it will not be an example unless she is given fair punishment and a chance to change her life around.

If it has been moved shouldn't you remove her NAME?
Did you put it in adult just to put here name out there.
I thought it just HAD TO BE in adult court so how can it be switched.

I agree she should be at Juvi. If she has shown no sign of recovery at 18 then move to adult court. I do agree a slap on the wrist in not in order. I also agree that she did not shove the pills down the kids throat. This was an unfortunate thing that happened to the boy. The other boy got lucky and hopefully has learned his lesson. The only thing I worry about her is what ever crime she commited last time obviously didn't have an effect on her because she is causing trouble again.

Maybe the grandma isn't in any kind of shape medically to keep track of her pills. I do agree if this happened in the same household before they should have been locked up. It is just sad all around.

Facts101, I totally agree.
This has nothing to do with repeat drunk drivers, unless they, too, kill someone.

I know there is personal responsibility, and the boy took the pills willingly. However, there are supposed to be laws that go after those who supply drugs that kill.

She's going to get another slap on the wrist, apparently, like she has been getting her whole life. She won't learn.

"Hopefully her punishment involves some public speaking/community education of what she did to discourage others"...
"Hopefully they will keep her until she is at least an adult and with this treatment she can go on to be a healthy part of society"...
"Did we all forget she is only 14! She is a victim of this messed up soceity (sic) we live in and bad parenting."
-Maybe she just needs a hug, huh? WOW! What a bunch of enabling, milquetoast saps!
But some of you are on the mark on one count--she likely didn't force the pills into the "victim," and he remains as responsible for his part of the deal as much as she is for hers!

Things I learn from reading these boards:
1. People sure seem to know a lot of details about other peoples' private lives. They must, since they seem to feel at liberty to judge victims, perps, everyones' parents and most of the community based on what they read here.
2. Oh, except they don't actually read the story before posting. So ...
3. There sure are a lot of PhDs and psychics in town.

happy2 - I would agree she is the victim of some very poor parenting, but I'm not so quick to blame society. That is where the proper direction and parenting comes into play. I wish the parents would get some serious punishment.

Did we all forget she is only 14! She is a victim of this messed up soceity we live in and bad parenting. I hope she gets the help needed that she didn't get before.

justme46, do you really think kids can't take pills in between the time someone goes to check on them? I was a teenager once and I can assure you that kids can figure out ways to get around even parents like you who think they are being careful. Your attempt to defend a criminal act by blaming a mother who lost her son for not watching his every move, like you claim you would have done but which we all know is preposterous, is just heartless.

I mean gun. Typo.

Napalm - You said "that's like if someone gives me a guan and I kill myself, is it their fault?" Actually, there is no comparison. Giving prescription drugs to a minor that aren't yours is contributing to a crime. Especially if that person o.d.'s from them. You hope she get's off scott free? Ya, that will lead by example.

And under the logic of some of the people posting here, if you hand a gun to someone you know is going to rob a bank with it, and that person kills a teller, you didn't "force" anyone to do the robbery so why should you be held responsible? But under the felony murder rule, the gun supplier can be held responsible for enabling the act that foreseeably resulted in the clerk's death. This is conceptually no different.

I don't disagree with the move to juvenile court but I don't see why some people keep bringing up that she didn't "force" anyone to take pills as though it's relevant. Whether others who took the substance she was handing out were forced to is not an element in deciding whether to punish someone for illegally distributing drugs. We don't say no harm, no foul if drug dealers get caught selling heroin or cocaine and no one dies. What this girl was (allegedly) passing out was illegal because she was not a pharmacist or doctor and had no right to be distributing it, regardless of what anyone else then did with it.

I wish I could look back at the other articles about this case and read the posts, but the Gazette disabled them. So many were for her going into the juvenile system instead of the adult system. Everyone thought it was soooo bad and now people are mad she is going to the juvenile system. This is just one mixed up mess! Like some say, she did not make the boy take the pills, yes, she took them from her grandmother, but did not stand over him and make him take them. I believe the parent should have watched these two boys closer. Having a sleepover on a school night, staying up way past bedtime and no supervision til this happened in the wee hours of morning. This is my opinion and I am entitled to it. Whenever my kids had sleepovers, even during the weekend, I was constantly a pain in the rear going in their room and checking to see what they were doing. If they stayed up late, I stayed up late. I am not a perfect parent nor do I attest to that but again, this girl did not force him to take them. I think she should be punished, but not in the adult system. She must have liked the pills and the way they made her feel, so she gave some away. With her history, she does need intense treatment in and out of the system and I pray she receives it even when she is released.

And when I say drunk drivers I mean repeat drunk drivers

We let drunk drivers that are adults get away with less and most of you are ready to hang her high! I feel for the family that lost their child. But, did she force the boy to swallow the pills???? She should have a chance to change her life for the better with guidance and a fair punishment.

Hopefully they will keep her until she is at least an adult and with this treatment she can go on to be a healthy part of society. Hope the parents get some help also, sounds like they need it as much...if not worse.

What some of you fail to realize is that this girl being only 14 has nothing to do with it. She made an adult choice and someone died she should pay an adult price. This limp wristed approach will do nothing but make her an older offender when her time is up in juvi.Maybe if she had some harsher punishment for her past infractions we would not have gotten to this point.

You have got to be kidding me! With this kids track record and this is all she gets? I guess you can commit murder and get away with it all you have to be is young enough. Glad to see our DA takes murder so lightly. Justice truely is blind in this case and also falling down drunk.

I agree 100 percent with this action. Mikki: I, too, feel for the family of the deceased boy. However, I also believe in taking some responsibility for one's own actions.

This case definately belongs in juvenile court. Hopefully her punishment involves some public speaking/community education of what she did to discourage others from doing the same.

Napalm if you have a family I REALLY hope that nothing happens like this to any of them, if this is really how you feel.

This is absolutely ridiculous, they had an opportunity to keep this troublemaker put away until she was 18, and now she will get off with a slap on the wrist. O'Leary really needs to go.

I am glad to see it in Juvenile..

This isn't the first time this girl has been in trouble. She obviously now won't learn, since she'll probably get a slap on the wrist.
I feel so bad for the family of the boy who passed away. They will not get justice.

Is her parents doing anything to keep her away from drugs? Do they even care what happens to her? If that is the case, that would explain how this case is evolving.

I personally think that this girl is being procecuted harder than most adults in this county!

Hope she gets the Max!!