"This case highlights for me the crying need for early intervention," he said. McDaniels "has needed help for a long time and not gotten it. On Dec. 4, caution went out the window, compassion went out the window, and reason went out the window. It's sad to me."
He concluded his statement by ordering the Department of Juvenile Services to provide McDaniels with individual psychiatric treatment by a psychiatrist, not a therapist and not in a group. Nothing less, he said, would do.
melissa.harris@baltsun.com brent.jones@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Jean Marbella contributed to this article.
Judge's statements
Baltimore Circuit Judge David W. Young, sentencing 15-year-old Nakita McDaniels for attacking Sarah Kreager aboard a city bus:
"A house divided cannot stand and our community is divided, our country is divided. Nobody likes anybody. It scares me."
"The person who could have led them to staying on the bus - she was vice president of the student government. ... She chose to lead her troops in another direction. There are many types of leaders. There are [leaders] for positive and good, and there are leaders who choose to use their leadership abilities to do wrong."
"I just wonder what has gone so wrong, so wrong? In our families, in our community, in our churches, in our schools. It's been painful for me. I didn't get more than three hours' sleep for a couple of months. I didn't want this case."
"I got literally dozens of phone calls. ... I've had people tell me that I'm only picking on these kids because they're black. That `you'd know they did it if you've ever ridden a bus in the city.' I've had people come up to me on the street and had to walk away from them."
"This case highlights for me the crying need for early intervention. [McDaniels] has needed help for a long time and not gotten it. On Dec. 4, caution went out the window, compassion went out the window, and reason went out the window. It's sad to me."
