THE Irish teenager facing charges of murder and robbery in New York, Robert Bright (15) from Dunboyne, Co Meath, will be tried as a juvenile, prosecutors have confirmed.
The boy's family and friends had feared he would be tried as an adult in connection with the robbery of a New York delicatessen in which a 32 year old Pakistani man was killed, thereby facing 25 years in prison if convicted.
But, according to the Nassau County District Attorney's office, Robert Bright would now face a minimum sentence of five years to life, or a maximum sentence of nine years to life, if convicted. He is expected to be indicted next week.
Mr Edward Grilli, of the District Attorney's Office, told The Irish Times that had Bright been a couple of months older, he would have faced a sentence of either 15 years to life or 25 years to life.
A decision was made this week to try the teenager as a juvenile in an adult court because of his age. "If he is convicted as charged now, the possible sentence, because of his age, is five or nine to life," Mr Grilli said.
Robert Bright's mother, Mrs Mary Bright, said: "I am very pleased, as you can imagine, we are able to focus on something now when I thought of him facing 25 years in prison, it seemed like a lifetime to me - now there is light - at the end of the tunnel."