A California boy found guilty of murdering his neo-Nazi father at age 10 is expected to learn on Friday whether he will spend the rest of his youth in a juvenile jail or be allowed to be incarcerated in a private facility or group home.
Joseph Hall, 12, was convicted of second-degree murder for shooting his father at point blank range in May 2011, killing him as he slept, in a case that made headlines because of the father's neo-Nazi ties and the rarity of a parent being killed by a child so young.
The boy's father Jeffrey Hall, 32, was a regional director of the National Socialist Movement, a white separatist group, and Joseph Hall's trial centered on allegations of abuse and the young defendant's grasp of right and wrong.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jean Leonard, who heard the juvenile case without a jury, could send him to the Department of Juvenile Justice, where he would be the youngest child in custody and where he would likely remain until age 23.
Hall's family and other law and child experts say this would not be in the best interest of the child, although his lawyer acknowledges it may be the most likely placement. They prefer a treatment facility that might see him released sooner.
"It's an absolutely awful place," defense attorney Matthew Hardy said of the Department of Juvenile Justice option. "Joseph ending up there would be terrible. It's a hell hole. Throwing him in there with his background would guarantee he'd never have a chance. He'll be living with the worst of the worst."
Hall has a history of severe aggressive behavior, which resulted in home schooling.
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