Philadelphia 12-year-old charged with murder Why do we have to rely on the New York Post to tell us what The Philadelphia Inquirer will not?

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This site has noted many times previously the Lexington Herald-Leader’s refusal to print mugshots of people accused of crimes, even violent crimes, if they are black. The Philadelphia Inquirer takes it further, and, as far as I can tell, doesn’t print mugshots at all, which means that, in the case of 16-year-old Qiyam Muhammad, readers of the Inquirer don’t know what he looks like, and cannot help the Philadelphia Police Department find young Mr Muhammad, who, as of Friday morning, was still on the lam.

We shouldn’t have to go to the New York Post for the information, but we do:

    Teens and boy, 12, charged with murder in Philadelphia carjacking

    By Joshua Rhett Miller | Friday, February 18, 2022 | 10:22 AM EST | Updated 10:46 AM EST

    John Nusslien. Photo by Philadelphia Police Department, and is a public record. Click to enlarge.

    A 12-year-old boy and two teens are facing murder charges in the savage beating death of an elderly man during a carjacking in Philadelphia, authorities said.

    The trio of young suspects are accused of attacking Chung Yan Chin, 70, during a violent carjacking in the city’s Mayfair section on Dec. 2, police said.

    Prosecutors allege the youngsters walked up to Chin and knocked him to the ground as they started punching and kicking him to the face, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

    Police said “unknown offenders” then took off with Chin’s Toyota Camry.

    Chin was rushed to a hospital in critical condition with a brain injury and facial fractures, court documents show. He died from his wounds weeks later on Dec. 21.

    “Justice has to be done,” Mayfair resident Amy Ford told WPVI. “It is just not fair. It is sickening. It is terrible. It is too close to home.”

    Qiyam Muhammad. Photo by Philadelphia Police Department, and is a public record. Click to enlarge.

    John Nusslein, 18, of Northeast Philadelphia, was charged last month in Chin’s slaying, while an arrest warrant has been issued for Qiyam Muhammad, 16, police told The Post.

    The 12-year-old boy, who has been charged with murder as an adult, is not being identified by The Post due to his age.

    Both Nusslein and the 12-year-old are being held without bail and attorneys representing them did not return calls seeking comment, the Inquirer reported.

Note that the Philadelphia Police Department had a mugshot of Qiyam Muhammad on hand, which tells us the obvious: young Mr Muhammad had been arrested previously.

Will District Attorney Larry Krasner really continue to charge the 12-year-old as an adult? I would guess not, because Mr Krasner is both soft-hearted and soft-headed. And it is always possible that the presiding judge will refuse to accept an adult charge for a 12-year-old. Would the courts accept a charge which could keep a 12-year-old locked up for the rest of his miserable life? Any competent attorney hired by the boy’s parents — assuming that he has any — or appointed by the court, would move to transfer the charges to the juvenile justice system.

Murder is not normally an entry-level crime, so I have to wonder: is this the 12-year-old’s first (alleged) crime? He was, again, allegedly, running with an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old, obviously out to commit a violent crime, even if they never intended to kill the victim. Normally, boys the ages of Messrs Muhammad and Nusslien don’t run gang with 12-year-olds.

There’s more to this story than we have been told.

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