Last month marked the 20th anniversary of the murder of Jason Elliott in Pittsfield.

Nov. 7 is a sad reminder of the changes in juvenile laws that came as a result of the Jason's disappearance and death. He was 9 years old when he was shot and killed by a 14-year-old boy.

Jason's body was found after a three-day search, stripped and hidden under a pile of leaves a half mile from his home. The teenage killer reportedly helped in the search.

At the time, no one younger than 15 could be certified to stand trial as an adult, so the boy, now a 34-year-old man, was treated as a juvenile. The killer was released on his 18th birthday from a $425-a-day psychiatric facility in early 1991, according to officials at the time.

His records were sealed and his identity kept secret by law ever since.

Jason's mother, Judith Elliott, testified then to help change the law, lowering the age at which teens could be certified as adults to 13 and allowing prosecutors to release more information to the family of victims.

Elliott said she and her family have tried hard to move on.

"It's been 20 years this year. I have always been an optimist, but there have been rocky roads at times," Elliott said. She prefers to avoid discussion about the whereabouts of her son's killer. Whenever there are similar crimes in the news, raw emotions are dredged up again every time, she said.

A school nurse when Jason was killed, Elliott believes even young killers can be rehabilitated but said the state hasn't developed the programs that would be necessary.

"I feel very strongly that there are situations with the proper amount of rehabilitation that there is a chance a perpetrator can turn his life around. I don't think the criminal justice system ever offered that to juveniles," she said. "The state dropped the ball (on rehabilitating teen offenders) when they get into the adult system."

There needs to be a major overhaul, and that would cost a lot of money, Elliott said.

"I was assured that was going to be part of the legislation. It never happened," she said. "It's very political."

Just when momentum builds for legislation that would help rehabilitate offenders convicted as teens, Elliott said, there is a shift in who has power in state government, and the momentum slows, then dies.

She also worries that amid all the talk of rehabilitating teen convicts, the victims' loved ones are forgotten.

The anniversary of Jason's death was another reminder of how many people's lives are changed when someone they know and love is murdered. The Elliotts marked it together.

"We keep things quiet. We always try to talk about him, to remember him. He is remembered every day," Elliott said.