Cain on trial

This past Saturday, D.C. Superior Court Judge Zoe Bush opened her courtroom to a mock grand jury. Their charge? Whether to indict Cain for the murder of Abel.

The courtroom was filled with families who got to see the familiar story played out in a modern context. But the event was more than a contemporary retelling of the Genesis story, according to Bush:

The judge said in an interview during a recess that the hearing underscored the importance of parents’ communicating stronger values.

“I hope that this exercise will be productive so that people can think not just reactively to murder and emotionally to murder, but what gives rise to it,” Bush said. “And what you can do ahead of time to put services and interventions in place so that people have alternatives to just acting out without thinking.”

Bush, who has been on the bench for 13 years, presides in juvenile court. She said that for every child who commits a crime, there are several factors that contributed to the problem.

“Children are not just acting out because they are bad, they are acting out because they are not getting the proper direction,” Bush said. “A lot of our children are traumatized for being in violent settings, and they react to being under that constant stress.”

Following the proceeding, the grand jury voted, 11 to 1, to indict Cain. In two months there will be a trial, Moten said. They plan to invite crime victims, perpetrators, clergy and scholars together to examine the issue in more depth.

As found in the Washington Post.

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