Joshua Johnson has been charged as an adult in the strangulation death of his grandmother.DALTON, Ga. — If a Whitfield County judge rules in favor of a Dalton teen accused of strangling his grandmother and transfers his murder case to Juvenile Court, the 17-year-old likely will face far fewer years in prison if he is convicted.
Joshua Johnson faces at least 30 years in prison if he is convicted of murder in Whitfield County Superior Court for the death two years ago of his grandmother, Lorraine Frazier, prosecutors said.
But if his case is transferred to Juvenile Court and he is convicted, he might go free in four years, Johnson’s defense attorney, L. David Wolfe, said.
Juvenile Court no longer has jurisdiction over cases once defendants turn 21, officials said. But there are exceptions during sentencing when a judge can require juveniles be transferred to an adult prison when they turn 21, said Tracy Masters, general counsel for the state Department of Juvenile Justice.
Johnson was charged with murder two days after Frazier was found dead on her bathroom floor in October 2010. Police said she was strangled with a cord. Johnson, who was 15 at the time, was treated as an adult because murder is one of the state’s “seven deadly sins,” or most violent crimes.