Curtis Jones (minister)

Curtis Fairchild Jones (born May 31, 1986), now a Christian minister, is the youngest person in the United States to have been tried as an adult and convicted of murder at the time of his conviction.[1][2] He was about 12 years of age at the time of his conviction.[3] Curtis was convicted of second degree murder during 1999 along with his 13-year-old sister, Catherine Jones, and subsequently incarcerated in jail in Florida. He was released from South Bay Correctional Facility on July 28, 2015.[3]

While most states in the United States typically try juveniles under the age of 18 in a separate juvenile court, there is legal precedent of the age of majority being considered lower for some heinous crimes. For example, in Kentucky, the lowest age a juvenile may be tried as an adult, no matter how heinous the crime, is 14. The trial and subsequent conviction of a 12-year old in the United States is considered a rare (but not entirely unique) case.