Double Murder Suspect, 14, to Be Tried as an Adult

An Alabama county judge has ordered Vincent Lamar Oliver Jr., 14, to be tried as an adult over a double murder he allegedly took part in.

Oliver Jr. is alleged to have fatally shot Jasmine Danielle Bean, 21, and 20-year-old Ja'Lexius Lashon Wells in Dothan, southeast Alabama, on Sunday, November 20, 2022.

According to ABC affiliate WDHN, Oliver Jr. was charged with two counts of capital murder. After he was arrested, Oliver Jr's case was sealed from public view on account of his age.

On Wednesday, Houston County Judge Butch Binford ordered Oliver Jr. to be charged as an adult and to be transferred from the Southeast Alabama Diversion Center to the Houston County Jail—his trial will be heard in public.

Due to Alabama's juvenile privacy laws, police are not usually allowed to share information regarding their arrest. Anyone under the age of 18 is considered a juvenile in most cases under Alabama law.

However, on November 22, a Dothan Police Department statement said: "The courts have issued an order allowing the suspect's information to be released to the public due to the interest of public safety."

CBS affiliate WTVY reported the bodies of Wells and Bean were found in a Dothan home on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Binford allowed Oliver Jr.'s name to be made public, despite his age, as it was believed he posed a significant threat to the public. It was not clear if Oliver had yet entered a plea.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, a database that collects information about shootings from across the country, 40 victims were fatally shot in Alabama in November 2022.

The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, which covers juvenile imprisonment, stated the number of incarcerated youths fell 77 percent from more than 108,000 in 2000 to about 25,000 in 2020.

Newsweek has contacted Dothan police for comment via email.

There have been numerous cases across the U.S. where children have been tried as adults after they allegedly committed serious crimes.

In November 2021, a 14-year-old girl was told she would stand trial as an adult after she allegedly attempted to shoot deputies during a standoff in Florida.

The girl was charged as an adult with attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, burglary of a dwelling while armed, and criminal mischief that caused damage of $1,000 or more, The Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors said deputies had initially held their fire after she and a 12-year-old boy broke into a home, but that they shot her after she pointed a shotgun at them and refused to put it down. The boy surrendered and was not hurt.