Lawyers for Treacy appeal bail decision‎

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. - Teen accused of beating Josie Lou Ratley deserves a reasonable bail, lawyers argue.

Lawyers for the Pompano Beach teenager accused of trying to kill a Deerfield Beach Middle School student in March are going to an appeals court to argue that their client is entitled to a bail hearing.

In a motion filed Friday with the 4th District Court of Appeal in
West Palm Beach, attorneys for 15-year-old Wayne Treacy challenged a recent ruling by Broward Circuit Judge David Haimes, who found Treacy is still being charged with a life felony even though, as a minor, Treacy cannot be sentenced to life in prison.

The appeal cites the Florida Constitution's provision that anyone charged with a crime is entitled to bail unless charged with an offense "punishable by life imprisonment."

Prosecutors successfully argued on July 1 in the lower court that the law is concerned with the seriousness of the crime, which remains the same regardless of the fact that Treacy was underage when it was committed.

Treacy is accused of trying to kill Josie Lou Ratley, 15, by severely beating and kicking her at a Deerfield Beach Middle School bus stop on March 17. Treacy is at the Broward Main Jail, charged as an adult with first-degree attempted murder.