Seventeen year-old Blade Reed is currently in the third year of a 30-year prison sentence in the state of
Indiana for robbery (resulting severe bodily injury). At the time of the offense, in 2008, Blade had the mental
capacity of an 8-year-old (he currently functions at the level of less than a 12 year-old), and had been
coerced into participating in the crime.
Blade's older brother was the instigator of the crime and forced Blade to accompany him on that fateful
night.
Though Blade is developmentally disabled, the courts threw him into adult court, and sentenced
him as an adult. Now Blade is serving a long-term sentence in adult prison, where he has been in repeated
altercations, none of which were his fault. He has served much of his time in prison, in solitary
confinement, due to this. This is not a suitable environment for Blade. He should be receiving
rehabilitation, not the barbaric treatment, he has received during most of his time in the Indiana Dept.
of Corrections.
Blade had always been dominated by his older brother Bennie. They had been through so much together,
abusive parents, foster homes, adoption, Bennie was the only “constant in Blade's life.
So on November 15, 2008, when a drunk Bennie Reed woke up his younger brother and threatened Blade if he didn't go out with Bennie to find more liquor, Blade had no choice but to go.
Bennie (17) and Blade (13) rode their bikes to the nearby home of an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Richard
Voland.
Bennie knocked on the door and when Mr. Voland answered, Bennie asked to use the phone. He told the
elderly man that their bikes had flats and they needed to call for help. Mr. Voland obliged, and let
Bennie in while Blade remained outside.
Once Bennie was inside, Mr. Voland saw that the boy had a gun, Mr. Voland pulled out a gun himself, and a
struggle ensued. Bennie was shot in the arm, he pulled out his gun, and shot Mr. Voland.
Hearing the shots and commotion, Mrs. Voland entered the room and tried to help her husband.
At this point Bennie was twirling his gun on his finger, and Mrs. Voland implored him to stop. "The gun
could still be loaded," she said. "Let's find out," Bennie replied, and shot Mrs. Voland in the abdomen.
"Blade had been waiting outside all this time, but hearing the shots, came inside to see what had happened
Bennie gave him a knife and said, "kill the woman; there can be no witnesses."
"I didn"t want to kill anyone," Blade later told authorities. But he took the knife and pretended to do"
as he was told. He cut softly, so as not to kill the woman. She had done him no harm and he was afraid of
Bennie.
Bennie and Blade were arrested less than 7 weeks later, whereupon prosecutor Jim Oliver filed for
Blade's waiver into adult court on January 12, 2009. The court ordered a psychological evaluation, the
results of which were presented on July 17th.
The psychiatrist hired by the court, Dr. Tonya Foreman, said she concluded that Blade had the mental
maturity of a child of age 10 or 11. She said 97% of children Blade's chronological age were more adept
tham him. She said he had severe ADHD,and had tasken medications, ending with treatment nine
years earlier. She said Blade had behavioral problems ever since, and warned: "If he goes and develops in
an adult prison, he will be influenced by the other inmates."
Another witness, school psychologist Barbara Jones, also testified that the 6th grader had learning
disabilities and a mental age of less than 11. She said Blade needs special education classes, and that
he has no deviant psychological problems such as being a sociopath or psychopath.
The experts were right but didn't go far enough in their evaluations. In-depth testing by a qualified
expert has shown that Blade is autistic and only had the mental maturity of an 8-year-old at the time of
the crime!
Brown County IN prosecutor Jim Oliver has said that justice was served in prosecuting then-13-year-old
Blade Reed, a sixth-grader, as an adult and placing him in adult prison. "He committed an adult crime and
he has received adult consequences," Oliver has said.
Just a few days after arriving in prison, to serve his sentence, Blade was in an altercation. He has been
in several since, none of which he instigated. Blade has spent several months in solitary confinement,
and is currently being held there once again. Is this the proper way to handle a disabled child?
Blade Reed was born on August 2, 1995 in Morgan County, Indiana. He was the second son of abusive parents who not only neglected him, but also physically and sexually abused him.
His birth parents’ parental rights were terminated in 2001 when Blade was just six. Blade,his older
brother Bennie, and sister Nakeisha, were placed by the state of Indiana in a succession of foster homes,
which contributed to his unstable and damaging upbringing. He grew into an extremely shy, quiet, and
frightened child.
Both brothers and sister were adopted by a loving yet dysfunctional family that was overwhelmed by
Blade’s special needs and failed to address them. Blade lived an isolated life and had few friends.
Blade's older brother Bennie was the only constant in his life and his most influential bond.
Unfortunately, Blade was completely dominated by his older,brother. He was a good little boy
who never had a chance.
Thank You
