AliBabaIncorporated
08-06-2005, 10:23 AM
The prosecutor in the case came out and claimed directly that Clayton killed his mother because of the English rule that day, whereas this article only mentions it as a contributing factor. Anyway I'm guessing the the rule was related to his home-schooling.
http://www.wltx.com/news/news19.aspx?storyid=29025
Prosecutor Dayton Riddle says the boy killed his mother after being required to speak only English on the day of her death. Riddle says the boy had also been punished for --not-- getting up to go to work with his father.
Teen gets 10 years in mother’s killing
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/12175260.htm
Adopted Guatemalan boy also gets four years probation for fatal stabbing
By RICK BRUNDRETT
Staff Writer
Keith Clayton says he’ll be there for his 16-year-old adopted son when the convicted killer gets out of prison — possibly in about seven years.
The Red Bank-area man said he still loves the son he and Debra Clayton adopted in 2002 from Guatemala — despite the fact the boy admitted in court Monday to killing Clayton’s wife of more than 15 years.
“I asked the court to get him some guidance and to try to get a breakthrough to his past because he’s very secretive,” his father said Tuesday.
Hugo Clayton pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the Nov. 12, 2003, stabbing death of the 33-year-old mother of five biological children and two other adopted Guatemalan children. The boy, who was 14 at the time, originally was charged with murder.
In a negotiated plea accepted by Circuit Court Judge James Lockemy, the teen was given a 10-year prison sentence and four years of probation. He could have received up to 30 years for voluntary manslaughter, or a possible life sentence had he been convicted of murder.
With credit for time served, Hugo Clayton could be freed from prison in as early as about seven years, Lexington County Deputy Solicitor Dayton Riddle said. The teen will be transferred to adult prison when he turns 17 in May, he said.
The teen told police he killed his mother in part because she disciplined him for not getting up to go to work with his father, a painting contractor, Riddle said.
The boy, who was home-schooled, also was frustrated because he was supposed to speak only English that day, he said.
Hugo Clayton first agreed voluntarily in a family court hearing Monday to be tried as adult; he later entered his plea and was sentenced in circuit court.
Riddle said he agreed to the deal mainly because he was concerned a family court judge would not have let the boy be tried as an adult. If convicted as a juvenile, the teen likely would have been released from a juvenile prison when he was about 18, the prosecutor said.
“I think he probably deserved more (prison time), but I certainly didn’t want to see him get any less,” Riddle said.
Laura Hudson, spokeswoman for the S.C. Victim Assistance Network, said Tuesday the sentence “on its face is not enough for a death.”
“My biggest question is, how dangerous is this young man going to be when he gets out?” she said.
Hugo Clayton’s lawyer, Jack Duncan of the county public defender’s office, said his client’s case is “one of the most tragic cases I’ve ever been involved with in the 20-plus years I’ve been in the practice of law.”
Psychiatric and psychological reports introduced during Monday’s hearing painted a bleak picture of the boy’s life in Guatemala. He didn’t know his parents and lived much of the first seven years on the streets before spending more than five years in an orphanage.
Reports indicated he has suffered from major depressive disorder, reactive attachment disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and brief reactive psychosis. He also has a borderline to low IQ, according to reports.
Keith Clayton, who in January married a woman with three of her own children, said he doesn’t understand why the teen snapped.
“He was a good kid when he lived here. It’s just inexplainable.”
Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484 or rbrundrett@thestate.com.
http://www.wltx.com/news/news19.aspx?storyid=29025
Prosecutor Dayton Riddle says the boy killed his mother after being required to speak only English on the day of her death. Riddle says the boy had also been punished for --not-- getting up to go to work with his father.
Teen gets 10 years in mother’s killing
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/12175260.htm
Adopted Guatemalan boy also gets four years probation for fatal stabbing
By RICK BRUNDRETT
Staff Writer
Keith Clayton says he’ll be there for his 16-year-old adopted son when the convicted killer gets out of prison — possibly in about seven years.
The Red Bank-area man said he still loves the son he and Debra Clayton adopted in 2002 from Guatemala — despite the fact the boy admitted in court Monday to killing Clayton’s wife of more than 15 years.
“I asked the court to get him some guidance and to try to get a breakthrough to his past because he’s very secretive,” his father said Tuesday.
Hugo Clayton pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the Nov. 12, 2003, stabbing death of the 33-year-old mother of five biological children and two other adopted Guatemalan children. The boy, who was 14 at the time, originally was charged with murder.
In a negotiated plea accepted by Circuit Court Judge James Lockemy, the teen was given a 10-year prison sentence and four years of probation. He could have received up to 30 years for voluntary manslaughter, or a possible life sentence had he been convicted of murder.
With credit for time served, Hugo Clayton could be freed from prison in as early as about seven years, Lexington County Deputy Solicitor Dayton Riddle said. The teen will be transferred to adult prison when he turns 17 in May, he said.
The teen told police he killed his mother in part because she disciplined him for not getting up to go to work with his father, a painting contractor, Riddle said.
The boy, who was home-schooled, also was frustrated because he was supposed to speak only English that day, he said.
Hugo Clayton first agreed voluntarily in a family court hearing Monday to be tried as adult; he later entered his plea and was sentenced in circuit court.
Riddle said he agreed to the deal mainly because he was concerned a family court judge would not have let the boy be tried as an adult. If convicted as a juvenile, the teen likely would have been released from a juvenile prison when he was about 18, the prosecutor said.
“I think he probably deserved more (prison time), but I certainly didn’t want to see him get any less,” Riddle said.
Laura Hudson, spokeswoman for the S.C. Victim Assistance Network, said Tuesday the sentence “on its face is not enough for a death.”
“My biggest question is, how dangerous is this young man going to be when he gets out?” she said.
Hugo Clayton’s lawyer, Jack Duncan of the county public defender’s office, said his client’s case is “one of the most tragic cases I’ve ever been involved with in the 20-plus years I’ve been in the practice of law.”
Psychiatric and psychological reports introduced during Monday’s hearing painted a bleak picture of the boy’s life in Guatemala. He didn’t know his parents and lived much of the first seven years on the streets before spending more than five years in an orphanage.
Reports indicated he has suffered from major depressive disorder, reactive attachment disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and brief reactive psychosis. He also has a borderline to low IQ, according to reports.
Keith Clayton, who in January married a woman with three of her own children, said he doesn’t understand why the teen snapped.
“He was a good kid when he lived here. It’s just inexplainable.”
Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484 or rbrundrett@thestate.com.