13-Year-Old Killer Spared Life Sentence

A Detroit boy who murdered a woman when he was 12 has been sent to juvenile prison until he is 21 years old. Authorities will then decide if Demarco Harris should be released or serve a life sentence. Harris, now 13, shot and killed 24-year-old Trisha Babcock in a botched robbery last year. Her father says the sentence is unfair. "For him to have a chance or opportunity to be set free when he is 21 is not justice for my daughter," he told CNN.

Harris will automatically be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted of a felony while he is juvenile detention. His mother told the court that she blamed herself for failing as a single parent. "I don't want you to lock him up for the rest of his life and throw away the key," she said, "but whatever it is that you see fit, I pray to God that you come up with the right solution and whatever it is that you say, it still won't be enough for that family." (More DeMarco Harris stories.)