The Trial of Henry Lewis

Teen with history of mental illness could face life-sentence for murder

 By Perry Busby

      A packed courtroom was on hand last week for Henry Lewis’s latest court hearing. At just 15 years old, Lewis has amassed more than a few charges. His latest court appearance is for a competency hearing to determine if he has the mental capacity to face trial for his latest charges: second-degree murder and armed robbery.

Lewis’ has been charged with the February 1, 2001, robbery and murder of Stefano Barbosa, a 37-year-old real estate agent.

If found competent by Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra, Henry’s charges will likely be upgraded to first-degree murder once the State Attorney presents it to a grand jury.

In March, Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor charged Lewis as an adult, which means he will face life behind bars in an adult state prison. If Pryor had chosen to charge Henry as a juvenile, the teenager would serve out his sentence in a juvenile detention facility until his 18th birthday, then remain under medical supervision until he turned twenty-one.

Pryor was elected in November 2020 as Broward County’s first African American State Attorney, representing Florida’s 17th Judicial Circuit. He won a heavily contested primary race in August 2020, capturing a little more than 20% of the 206,000 votes cast in the race, edging out fellow Democrat Joe Kimok by 2,500 votes.

“These types of decisions are very difficult to make, but I believe this is the correct decision in this case and in these circumstances,” Pryor responded when asked why his office decided to charge Lewis as an adult. “This young person’s issues are so significant that they require treatment, help, and services beyond what the juvenile justice system can provide at this time.”

Such a response has left some Pryor supporters scratching their head. Many within the Black community and social justice advocacy community view Pryor’s actions as a betrayal of two issues he made central to his campaign: (1) addressing the school-to-prison pipeline by providing support services for vulnerable students; (2) advocating for therapeutic courts to support people with mental health and substance abuse issues.

The State Attorney’s actions and statements appear to contradict answers he provided on an ACLU Florida Candidate Questionnaire.

When asked if he would commit to not direct filing youth in the adult system, Pryor answered in the affirmative. “Yes.”

“It is my fundamental goal and objective to not charge children as adults,” Pryor wrote in a statement supporting his position. “Children have no place in the criminal justice system, and it has been clinically proven that children’s minds are not fully developed until well after the age of 21.”

In a recent court hearing, Phyllis Cook, the public defender representing Lewis entered a plea of not guilty. She argues that all the safety nets that were supposed to help the troubled adolescent failed him. Cook says the teen should never have been in a position to be accused — much less commit murder.

According to court records, Henry’s first arrest occurred in 2018, when he was 12 years old and a student at Cross Creek School in Pompano Beach, a school designed for children with mental health and disciplinary challenges. He was charged with armed robbery, although no weapon was ever recovered.

A look at the teenager’s medical history shows a child that many describe as friendly and outgoing, as well as irritable and disorderly. Henry was diagnosed as having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when he was 6 years old. The list of mood-changing, mind-altering medication he has been prescribed over the years include Adderall, Concerta and Ritalin.

The Florida Baker Act law allows doctors, mental health professionals, judges, and law enforcement to commit a person to a mental health treatment center for up to 72 hours if they display certain violent or suicidal signs of mental illness.

The purpose of the Baker Act is to allow time for a mental health evaluation to be performed and to de-escalate a crisis. This evaluation will confirm whether the individual is experiencing a mental health issue, and if the person is determined not to be a danger to themself or others, they will be released after the holding period.

Police and court reports show the teenager has been Baker Acted more than a dozen times.

Henry was ordered into a state mental health facility last October, four months before the Barbosa murder.

Since his arrest in 2018, Henry has been arrested and charged with a list of violations, including aggravated battery, and resisting a firefighter or emergency medical employee without violence.

On October 21, 2020 Broward Circuit Judge Michael Orlando ordered Lewis be placed at Apalachicola Forest Youth Camp, in Tallahassee, for competency restoration training. Competency restoration training is a treatment designed to help mentally deficient violators comprehend the legal process and their charges. Some argue the treatment is simply a legal maneuver to provide courts with ample cover against claims of wrongfully imprisoning mentally challenged citizens.

Lewis, however, never made it to Apalachicola Forest Youth Camp. Broward Public Defender Gordon Weekes said the teen slipped through the cracks in the system: There was no room for him at Apalachicola Forest Youth Camp and he has been waiting for placement since last October.

Now the court wants to absolve itself while it holds a misdiagnosed, mentally distressed child responsible, and prosecute him as an adult.

As of press time the hearing continues.

The Westside Gazette will continue to update as information becomes available.

PLEASE SEE VIDEO TITLE HENRY LEE LEWIS COMPETANCY HEARING AT: WWW.THEWESTSIDEGAZETTE.COM

About Carma Henry 26104 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

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