I would like to thank the Rev. Abigail Diehl-Noble and Anya Schwartz for the insight, empathy and eloquence of their letters regarding the tragic shooting of Madden Gouveia that took place in Bristol several weeks ago. I share their sadness at the loss of a young life and their concern that the accused student was identified by name and charged as an adult.

I am glad to see that in the end, the accused teen was placed in his parents’ custody while awaiting trial. So much damage, however, has already been done by the initial decision to charge this child as an adult. His court hearing should not have been on the evening news. This child will forever be identified and blamed for this tragedy while the facts of what happened are unclear.

Eva Vekos, Addison County State’s Attorney, stated that “being charged as an adult doesn’t mean he necessarily is going to be convicted as an adult, but it is a starting point.” As a result of using this strategy as a “starting point,” a young teenage boy has had his rights as a minor disregarded. I wonder if this child were a white teen who grew up in Addison County if he would have been treated differently.

I would agree with the accused boy’s attorney that this is an “allegation of essentially tragic carelessness.” For Vermont to be safe, a place where we can all thrive, we need to double our already strong efforts to support children and families, to look closely at issues of race and equity, and to approach our criminal justice system with a lens toward rehabilitation. These tragedies do not happen in a vacuum, we can all participate in addressing these issues.

Kathleen Ready

New Haven