- Joined
- Feb 6, 2008
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- 25,116
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- Location
- Theoretical Physics Lab
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- Political Leaning
- Libertarian - Right
Jallman, all you're doing is enforcing my belief that the whole system needs an overhaul. You're quick to pull the "he's only 11" argument out of the holster and saying that it's the way it is. It also shows that the way it is should not be the way it is. The problem with many laws such as blue laws (which were inherited from English law) and many aspects of the Constitution is that they do not reflect society in the way that it has evolved and adapted to a time of progression. I'm guessing that when these rules first came to be, a pubescent child killing a grown adult outside of the field of battle was about as non-existent as you could get.
Such is not the case here. If we were talking about a kid whose hands slipped and the gun accidentally fired, it's a whole other case. This kid shot a pregnant woman execution style. This is full-blown premeditation, complete with culpability and understanding of motive and rationality.
The first thing I ask myself when I consider a punishment would be "would I want them to live next door to me?". I look at this kid, his crime, his intentions, and his psychological state and I tell myself that there is absolutely no chance that I would want to be within driving distance of this kid. Parents are responsible for their children to a certain extent, but after you hit a point the fabrications of right and wrong in the human psyche determine what you do and what you don't do. This kid didn't kill his dad's girlfriend and unborn son because the dad was inept. This kid killed her because he's messed up in the head, and if you release him with essentially a slap on the wrist, his own brain tells him that killing again isn't a huge tragedy because the trade-off isn't all that bad.
Such is not the case here. If we were talking about a kid whose hands slipped and the gun accidentally fired, it's a whole other case. This kid shot a pregnant woman execution style. This is full-blown premeditation, complete with culpability and understanding of motive and rationality.
The first thing I ask myself when I consider a punishment would be "would I want them to live next door to me?". I look at this kid, his crime, his intentions, and his psychological state and I tell myself that there is absolutely no chance that I would want to be within driving distance of this kid. Parents are responsible for their children to a certain extent, but after you hit a point the fabrications of right and wrong in the human psyche determine what you do and what you don't do. This kid didn't kill his dad's girlfriend and unborn son because the dad was inept. This kid killed her because he's messed up in the head, and if you release him with essentially a slap on the wrist, his own brain tells him that killing again isn't a huge tragedy because the trade-off isn't all that bad.