Lead letter: Taking issue with Corey's decision

As a constituent of State Attorney Angela Corey, I am appalled at the way she has handled the case of Cristian Fernandez.

My son went to middle school with 12-year-old Cristian Fernandez. He seemed like a well-behaved and average young boy who did well in school.

Following the tragic death of Cristian's brother, David Galarriago, I learned about the terrible physical and sexual abuse Cristian was surrounded by at home.

This, along with the opinions of medical professionals, solidified my disagreement with Corey's decision to try Cristian as an adult.

After his extremely tough childhood, it is clear that Cristian deserves rehabilitation and help - not jail time.

This is a case that has drawn international attention to our community for a simple reason: It is wrong to try children in adult courts and to seek life sentences for them. In fact, this practice is in violation of international law.

That's why 175,000 people signed a petition on Change.org asking Corey to move this case to juvenile court.

The petition has signatures from more than 12,000 Florida residents, 2,000 of whom are from counties that Corey directly represents.

To defend herself, Corey argued that she'd never sought a life sentence for Cristian - that the 175,000 petition signers on Change.org were misinformed.

I was comforted when she publicly announced she wouldn't seek life in prison for Cristian, nor would she claim he committed premeditated murder.

She made it clear that the case would not go to trial.

But just two months later, a trial date has been set, and Cristian is being charged with first-degree premeditated murder.

If he is convicted, this 12-year-old boy will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Her empty promises apparently were meant to suppress the public backlash against her mishandling of this case. In our great country and state, our citizens are innocent until proven guilty.

Without family or money, Cristian is an easy target for the powerful like Angela Corey.

Her handling of this case should leave voters in our community wary of trusting her to uphold justice as a state attorney.

Alicia Torres,

Jacksonville