Allegedly, Cristian has confessed.

But on his behalf, there is international outrage. More than 170,000 people have signed an online petition, urging the prosecutor to treat the boy as a juvenile, not as an adult. The prosecutor disagreed, saying Florida law is Florida law.

The Sunshine State sends more juveniles into the adult prison population than any other state. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2009, 393 Florida juveniles entered adult prison, followed by Connecticut with 332, North Carolina with 215, New York with 190, Arizona with 157 and Texas with 156.