About 30 protesters demonstrated in front of the courthouse Wednesday morning asking that the murder case against 13-year-old Cristian Fernandez be moved back to juvenile court.

Fernandez had a hearing scheduled Wednesday with his new attorneys, but it was postponed. That didn't stop demonstrators from coming out.

Alicia Torres, who organized the protest, said a court official accepted 178,000 petitions asking State Attorney Angela Corey to reconsider her decision to try Fernanzed as an adult on charges he killed his 2-year-old half brother.

The protestors said the teen can't comprehend the magnitude of the charges and punishment he's facing.

"I don't see how ending another child's life for putting him in jail for the rest of it is going to help him or anyone else," Torres said.

IMAGES: Dozens rally for Cristian Fernandez

Torres' son went to school with Fernandez for a few months. They barely knew him. But she visited the boy when he was in solitary confinement and feels compelled to stick by his side.

"He doesn't have any family here," Torres said. "All his family is in the Dominican Republic. Someone has to step up and let everyone know that this is wrong."

Torres said Fernandez is a child and should be treated like one.

"I'm a mother and I guess I have a different level of compassion than most people," Torres said. "I see things differently. I don't see my 13-year-old as being an adult, and I don't see Cristian as being an adult, so I don't think he should be tried as one."

Melissa Medina saw the rally on the news and felt compelled to join. Her 14-year-old son is facing a felony.

"The judicial system doesn't care," Medina said. "They don't care what happens to the kids. I feel like they just want to throw them away and forget about them. I feel like it's all about politics and bettering careers and numbers, and that each one of these kids become a number and not a person."

Protesters said that with the police presence in court each time Fernandez appears, they don't think he should have to wear shackles.

"Seeing a child shackled and chained in front of a judge in a courtroom of his peers and adults who are sitting there watching him, it's completely wrong," Medina said.

"Children who wind up in the juvenile justice system are more than likely products of abuse, abandonment, sexual and physical abuse. And when you put children in shackles, it sort of revives some of those harms and abuses," said Benetta Standly, of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Fernandez faces a charge of first-degree murder in his half brother's death, and he's also charged in a separate sexual assault case involving his stepbrother.

As part of the protest, the group released 13 orange balloons, the color of Fernandez's jumpsuit, and two baby blue balloons in honor of his brother, David Galarriago, who died.

The balloon release was supposed to signify hope for Fernandez to be released from juvenile detention and into a rehabilitation center.

"The juvenile system is not equipped to deal with juvenile murderers or moderate term confinement," Corey said in a statement Tuesday. "We stand to do the right thing. We've said all along we are not seeking life in prison."

"I know she said she didn't prosecute by petition, but maybe if she physically takes a look at it, it might change her mind or at least make her think about it a little bit more," Torres said of Corey.