Tried as a adult?
- Thread starter JennSLK
- Start date
People in crowds can behave with a sort of barbarism I think would and should startle most people. I feel for the victim in this Canada case, just as I feel for the girl in the Richmond, CA case. Both are despicable acts but again, I fail to see a case where kids should be tried as adults just because the act was horrible.
Juvenile crime isn't without consequence and I believe that in most cases even violent juvenile offenders and society are better served with rehabilitation vs Lock em up and throw away the key mentality.
Juvenile crime isn't without consequence and I believe that in most cases even violent juvenile offenders and society are better served with rehabilitation vs Lock em up and throw away the key mentality.
I don't think anyone is suggesting a slap on the wrist. What is being suggested is punishment that at least offers some "help" for the offenders rather than throwing young teenagers into general prison populations with adult offenders.
The simple fact is that most adult rapists are NOT put away for life. If these 16 year old offenders are given, say, 20 years in an adult maximum security prison studies suggest that they are more likely to reoffend when they get out than those sent through the juvenile system. You are taking someone who clearly already has some serious issues and putting them through a free 20 year course of "how to become a more violent and efficient criminal 101" then releasing them out into the public.
For me it's really not a matter of "feeling sorry" for the offender--it's a matter of the effect on society in the long run. Are people that would do something like this always going to have a screw loose? Probably, but they are still going to have to be released back into society at some point. So if they brains are still pliable at a certain age (which studies of the human brain suggest they are), then wouldn't it be better in the long run to at least try to rehab them to the point that they can function without victimizing others then to not give them any sort of help and then toss them for the next 20 years into a system that is pretty much centered around crime and violence?
The simple fact is that most adult rapists are NOT put away for life. If these 16 year old offenders are given, say, 20 years in an adult maximum security prison studies suggest that they are more likely to reoffend when they get out than those sent through the juvenile system. You are taking someone who clearly already has some serious issues and putting them through a free 20 year course of "how to become a more violent and efficient criminal 101" then releasing them out into the public.
For me it's really not a matter of "feeling sorry" for the offender--it's a matter of the effect on society in the long run. Are people that would do something like this always going to have a screw loose? Probably, but they are still going to have to be released back into society at some point. So if they brains are still pliable at a certain age (which studies of the human brain suggest they are), then wouldn't it be better in the long run to at least try to rehab them to the point that they can function without victimizing others then to not give them any sort of help and then toss them for the next 20 years into a system that is pretty much centered around crime and violence?
"I hope the kids who committed the crime get some serious, serious help, and are punished for their actions, but I also hope it doesn't destroy their entire lives."
Sorry, but I do hope it destroys their entire lives, just as they have probably destroyed their victim's entire life. And I hope that every time they run into that ol' brick wall, they remember that what they did led to what their lives became.
Rehab for rapists and other sociopaths? I'd love to think it could work, but nothing I've ever read leads me to believe that it would.
Sorry, but I do hope it destroys their entire lives, just as they have probably destroyed their victim's entire life. And I hope that every time they run into that ol' brick wall, they remember that what they did led to what their lives became.
Rehab for rapists and other sociopaths? I'd love to think it could work, but nothing I've ever read leads me to believe that it would.
I think we're giving short shrift to the victim, to assume that this one act will destroy her entire life, that she is now forever doomed to be a mere shell and shadow of her former self. Yes, she's going to need extensive therapy and this will have a lasting effect, but I don't think, or at least I'm hoping, that she will essentially shrivel up and die.
As to those...I don't even know what to call them, those responsible, we'll say...yes they should be tried as adults. There is enough evidence to prove that this was a premeditated act and that they felt no shame or remorse for their actions as evidenced by putting it up on facebook. However, they should not be put into the adult prison system. That WILL ruin any chance they ever have.
Honestly, I'm in the camp of "castrate and live out the rest of their lives as indentured servents".
As to those...I don't even know what to call them, those responsible, we'll say...yes they should be tried as adults. There is enough evidence to prove that this was a premeditated act and that they felt no shame or remorse for their actions as evidenced by putting it up on facebook. However, they should not be put into the adult prison system. That WILL ruin any chance they ever have.
Honestly, I'm in the camp of "castrate and live out the rest of their lives as indentured servents".
It really DOES matter how heinous the crime is, how it affects the public, that makes them decide if the 'child' is an adult or not and I don't agree with that.
I feel for the victim, and if it were my daughter, I'd probably want to hunt the b@stards down myself. But if you call them an adult at 16 for THIS crime, you should call them an adult at 16 for shoplifting, jay walking, and any other crimes they are charged with.........JMO.
One thing I would like to point out (if it hasn't been already) The fact that they POSTED THEIR CRIME on Facebook in videos/photos should tell some of you their decision making skills are not mature. What serious, full grown, understanding the consequences, criminal does that? That was very childlike and stupid IMO. Committing this horrible crime does indeed seem 'grown up' the way they handled it AFTER the fact seems very immature and unable to comprehend the magnitude of what they had done.
They need to be punished, and punished VERY harshly, but trying them as an adult and tossing them in with adult criminals is not the way to go IMO.
The things you've listed have always bothered the crap out of me as well. I can't comprehend the logic in them. You don't understand the responsibilities of driving at 15, but in 12 more months you magically do. You can sign 2 years of your life away to the military at age 18, go off to war, shoot and kill other human beings, be responsible for thousands of dollars worth of equipment and other lives..........but uh uh uh, no drinking alcohol until you are 21
I feel for the victim, and if it were my daughter, I'd probably want to hunt the b@stards down myself. But if you call them an adult at 16 for THIS crime, you should call them an adult at 16 for shoplifting, jay walking, and any other crimes they are charged with.........JMO.
One thing I would like to point out (if it hasn't been already) The fact that they POSTED THEIR CRIME on Facebook in videos/photos should tell some of you their decision making skills are not mature. What serious, full grown, understanding the consequences, criminal does that? That was very childlike and stupid IMO. Committing this horrible crime does indeed seem 'grown up' the way they handled it AFTER the fact seems very immature and unable to comprehend the magnitude of what they had done.
They need to be punished, and punished VERY harshly, but trying them as an adult and tossing them in with adult criminals is not the way to go IMO.
The things you've listed have always bothered the crap out of me as well. I can't comprehend the logic in them. You don't understand the responsibilities of driving at 15, but in 12 more months you magically do. You can sign 2 years of your life away to the military at age 18, go off to war, shoot and kill other human beings, be responsible for thousands of dollars worth of equipment and other lives..........but uh uh uh, no drinking alcohol until you are 21
Not true.
Keeping them permanently out of her life would help her. A sense of justice in their punishment might possibly help her. Keeping them from making themselves a little chain of victims over the next few decades would help other people avoid having the same thing happen to them.
Ditto. I don't care where they go or how they are tried in court as long as they are NEVER let loose again.
Keeping them permanently out of her life would help her. A sense of justice in their punishment might possibly help her. Keeping them from making themselves a little chain of victims over the next few decades would help other people avoid having the same thing happen to them.
Ditto. I don't care where they go or how they are tried in court as long as they are NEVER let loose again.