Mother Pleads Guilty To Homicide Of 2-Year-Old Daughter, Walks Free From Navajo Nation Tribal Court

Seven years ago, 2-year-old Kiara Harvey was found dead in her family home, which is located on Navajo tribal lands in Arizona. Doctors say the child suffered from a swollen skull and brain hemorrhages. The medical examiner concluded that the tiny toddler had been beaten to death. However, due to tricky tribal laws and the federal government passing on the case, neither the child’s mother or father will spend a single day in jail.

According to the Daily Mail, the child’s mother, Norena Joe, claimed that she rolled on the child in the bed, suffocating her. With the apparent homicide taking place on tribal lands, it would be up to the federal government or the Navajo Nation to prosecute the person responsible. The federal government said they didn’t have enough evidence to pursue federal charges, as the mother or father could have been responsible, with each being able to claim the other was responsible in court. Despite the issues from a federal perspective, Norena Joe was charged in Navajo court for homicide. This week, Joe took a plea deal presented by the Navajo Nation tribal lands prosecutor. She pleaded guilty in exchange for a sentence of one year in prison and two years of probation, with the jail sentence suspended. Therefore, Norena won’t spend a day in jail after pleading guilty to homicide by criminal negligence.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that, though Joe will not spend a day in jail for the death of Kiara Harvey, she will be placed on probation for two years, which means she is unable to leave tribal lands during that time period. In addition to being unable to leave the Navajo Nation territory, she cannot drink alcohol or be inside of a business that serves alcohol. The Navajo Nation prosecutor Richard Wade says that despite being unable to get any jail time for Joe, he feels justice was served.

“I really believe as best as it could, justice was served here.”

Former Navajo Nation chief prosecutor Bernadine Martin says the tribe would have had difficulty finding Joe guilty, as she had no criminal history and the medical examiner couldn’t rule out that the child was with her father at the time she was fatally injured. Therefore, in court, Norena could have claimed that the father was at fault and vice versa.

MacDonald Rominger, the head of the FBI’s northern Arizona office at the time of Kiara’s death, said that the office did not take on the homicide case, as they would have had difficulty proving fault from a federal standpoint. Therefore, the case was left to the Navajo Nation to pursue. Rominger did say that he was pleased to hear it was resolved in tribal court.

Sadly, violent crimes on tribal land are typically referred to the federal government to prosecute, as sentences are stiffer. In fact, Congress limited tribes to charging misdemeanor crimes that carry a maximum penalty of a year in jail, unless the crime meets certain criteria. Therefore, it seems for the most part that tribes have their hands tied when it comes to violent offenders that the federal government feels they cannot prosecute.

Interestingly, the federal government could take another look at the case, as it would not violate double jeopardy laws, since the guilty plea was presented on tribal lands.

What do you think about the tribal judicial system? Was justice served in the Kiara Harvey case, or should the federal government take another look at the case following the guilty plea?

[Image Credit: Harvard Law]