Teen Guilty of Soliciting Father's Murder

(AP)  A jury in Hagerstown has convicted a 16-year-old girl of soliciting the murder of her late father.

The panel deliberated about 90 minutes Wednesday before finding Danielle Black guilty of solicitation of first-degree murder.

She faces up to life imprisonment at her sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

Danielle's father, 47-year-old Billy Lee Black, was stabbed to death outside the family's Hagerstown home on Halloween. The man charged with killing him is not the same friend Danielle was convicted of approaching on a school bus a few days before the slaying.

In closing arguments on Wednesday, the prosecutor portrayed Danielle Black as a girl obsessed with her father's death and her twisted hatred of him.

But the defense said Danielle, and the boy on a school bus she allegedly approached, were just teenagers saying things they didn't mean.

The state rested Wednesday after presenting its star witnesses - two teenagers who were little help in proving that Danielle Black asked a friend on a school bus to kill her father.

Defense attorneys said they would rest after an afternoon recess. Black declined to testify.

The 18-year-old who allegedly received the request testified that Black asked him to "take care of" her father, not kill him. A 14-year-old prosecution witness testified that she overheard Black discuss a murder plan, but she said the conversation happened Oct. 31, at least five hours after Billy Lee Black was killed.

Her testimony contradicted the timeline she gave to police.

[lakelizardholmes]

THIS is why the passing of Walter Cronkite should be noted with significantly more public concern than that of, say, Michael Jackson. While our society should certainly mourn the accompanying death of journalistic integrity, this story clearly indicates that we need also mourn the death of journalistic competence. CBS: My how the mighty have fallen.

[Illuminated1]

This case is just entering another phase that will in the end exonerate her since the evidence wouldn't stand 10 minutes in appeal.

[american-german]

I see a big problem with any jury convicting someone of first degree murder after only 90 minutes of deliberation. These small town courts scare the hell out of me.

[pierson98]

I'd hit it.

[eewrites]

The editor of this website should look seriously at the fact that several readers felt the need to go find relevant information on the internet and post it. This article left a myriad of obvious questions unanswered. This does not speak well about the quality of writing or reporting on this site.
I find the new format somewhat confusing and, as indicated above, the reporting substandard. I hope CBS news takes a good long look at themselves.

[lakelizardholmes]

Recipient of the "Nail on the Head Award"! The story becomes secondary to the poor job done in its reporting.
(The Nail on the Head Award is randomly given to posters on news sites who manage against all odds to logically focus on the central issue of a given news story without resorting to name-calling, political or religious partisanship, or celebrity worship)

[YuSoWrong]

Morality doesn't require religion. Start with a definition of Man as a reasoning animal, define Good as whatever allows his reason, define Evil as whatever prevents his reason. Define sustaining his own life as Good, define involuntary sacrifice for others' lives as Evil (the use of force). Define productive effort as Good, define slavery as Evil (you don't get paid or you don't get to own what you buy).

From these definitions, republics are Good, dictatorships are Evil. Supporting dictatorships is also Evil, which means we have a lot of Evil people on the CBS blog without any reference to their religion.

[YuSoWrong]

How so?

[YuSoWrong]

But it follows that a Man who endorses Evil, as previously defined, is Evil himself. It doesn't matter what religious persuasion he also endorses (and as religion often denies the use of Reason, it is Evil to that extent as well).

[pubsnomore]

I heard that gang sign is gonna be the new Mitt Romney campaign symbol.

[YuSoWrong]

But your gang sign was both hands in the air?

[crazycwp]

Who knows what her dad did to her to make her feel that way. Maybe something, maybe nothing, maybe he raised her the way most kids are being raised, outside the church. That would explain the lack of gratitude,graciousness and humility that we should see in kids today.Fact remains tho, dad's dead and the young woman gonna spend the rest of probably most of her life in prison learning more about being a criminal. Sad all the way around.

[gravyboat4000]

Yes, that's what our youth need, more religion.

LMAO!!!

[blog_fever2]

"Train up a child the way they should go and when they get old the will not depart from it." - Holy Bible
************************************
We need to go back to the basics with our children. This generation is worse of than we ever were.

[stillwaters6]

WHAT IN THE WORLD???

[pubsnomore]

Story says she's part of the RePubs, not the bloods.

[YuSoWrong]

But you didn't say 'CON' and so you have failed. Try again and again.

[Questionews]

How's your arm? After that reach it must be dislocated.
(You're usually wittier than that:)