D.A. WON'T PROSECUTE STUDENT IN FATAL FIGHT EVIDENCE SAYS BOY ACTED IN SELF-DEFENSE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Prosecutors on Friday declined to file any charges against a 14-year-old former Juniper Intermediate School student who was involved in a fistfight that killed a classmate, saying the boy acted in self-defense in what was termed an ``excusable homicide.''

The decision, which comes five months after the Nov. 19 death of 13-year-old Stephan Corson, stated that 11 witnesses said Stephan started the fight, and that a teacher told investigators that after she separated the two boys, Stephan reached around her and punched the other boy.

The other boy punched back, and Stephan fell, striking his head on a concrete surface, Deputy District Attorney Alan Yochelson wrote in a six-page report.

The name of the 14-year-old has not been released because of his age.

``The evidence suggests (the 14-year-old boy) did nothing more than block punches or punch back, a reasonable response to the situation,'' Yochelson wrote. ``(T)he statement of the teacher who separated the two, if accurate, supports the position that the subject acted in self-defense with respect to the final blow. It can be reasonably inferred that the subject, faced with a renewed attack, exercised reasonable force in self-defense by striking back once.''

The news drew opposite reactions from the families of both boys, with Stephan's mother expressing extreme disappointment, and the father of the 14-year-old saying the decision was long overdue.

``It's way overdue,'' said the father of the boy. ``They could have decided in less than just a few months. My son has been waiting for something to be said all this time. I'm happy, of course.''

Melanie Lomax, attorney for Stephan's mother, Mary Corson, said her client expected that some kind of charge would be filed against the other boy because he killed her son.

``She finds (the District Attorney's Office findings) inexplicable, especially the portion that indicates that (the boy) acted in self-defense because students who were present at the scene said that Stephan Corson was walking away after the altercation, and that he was struck from behind on the side of his head, and that caused the severe injury to his spinal cord that killed him,'' Lomax said.

``What the District Attorney's Office has done is rely on statements of the teacher instead of the students who were there,'' Lomax said.

The death of Stephan Corson was ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. Coroner officials said Stephan died from damage to his spinal cord - acute cervical spinal cord injury due to blunt-force trauma - caused either by a punch thrown by a classmate or from hitting the ground with his chin.

Corson and the 14-year-old boy began fighting just after class let out about 1:55 p.m. According to reports from coroner's officials and witnesses, Stephan was struck on the side of the face and fell, hitting his chin on the pavement.

Mary Corson filed a $10 million wrongful-death lawsuit last month against the Palmdale School District.

Sheriff's investigators interviewed 18 witnesses who were present at the school at the time of the fight, the District Attorney's Office report said. According to one student in the classroom, the 14-year-old boy and Stephan argued over a paper-throwing incident during class, and the witness heard Stephan say he intended to punch the other boy after school, the report said.

Eleven witnesses outside the classroom stated that after the boys left the classroom, Stephan approached and started a fight, the report said. Nine of these witnesses said Stephan punched the other boy, one said Stephan pushed him, and one said he saw Stephan charge at the other boy, the report said.

One witness said the 14-year-old boy struck Stephan first, the report said.

``The subject punched back and the fight continued until other students and a teacher attempted to separate the pair,'' the report said. ``The subject punched the decedent, who fell to the ground and experienced what appeared to be a seizure. He died at the scene.''

Sheriff's investigators examined the 14-year-old boy for injuries and saw that his eyes and lips were swollen, that the orthodontic braces over his upper teeth were broken, and that he sustained a bruise to his right shoulder, the report said.

The report explained that ``excusable homicide'' occurs when a killing is ``committed by accident and misfortune, in the heat of passion, upon any sudden and sufficient provocation, or upon a sudden combat, when no undue advantage is taken, nor any dangerous weapon used, and when the killing is not done in a cruel or unusual manner.''

Yochelson wrote that the doctrine of excusable homicide blocks a successful prosecution.

``The available evidence demonstrates that the subject killed the decedent unintentionally, by accident and misfortune, and that his actions were committed in the heat of passion upon a sudden combat or upon a sudden and sufficient provocation,'' Yochelson wrote.

``While there are inconsistencies in the statements of a few of the witnesses, the weight of the evidence demonstrates that the conflict was initiated by the decedent. It cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the subject attacked the decedent, or used any force beyond that necessary to defend himself. Therefore, this office must decline prosecution,'' Yochelson wrote.