True. But I said that the kid deserved at least some kind of punishment as well. But I don't think he should get the death penalty or life in prison. And you have to understand that the human brain keeps developing even through high school. So he may not have yet developed the neccessary emotional control in himself. You can't lock a kid up like that; he needs to be taught and nutured. He can't be locked up still emotionally unstable. So counseling, community service, or something along those lines sounds reasonable. But that's just me. If you have another suggestion for punishment, I would like to hear it.
I'll put it how I put my plan to parent (eventually, lulz). To "punish" implies the person is purely suffering because they've done wrong. Instead, I prefer a "re-direction." That is, putting this kid to community service will teach him nothing. Putting this kid in counseling will either make him actually crazy or give him very little respect for authority because "they all tell me something's wrong with me." I think, if you look at "punishment" being incited for the purpose of re-direction rather than satisfying your own anger, you've a better chance at helping the child. Obviously, there's an issue. Be it in his home or in his heart, he has a problem. As he is now father-less, he needs family. He needs someone to step up and evaluate. He probably has a mis-construed opinion of his mother. His step-mother, having obviously disagreed with his father, probably isn't looking out for his best interest either. The kid's stuck, really. An aunt, uncle, or grandparent would definitely help, I think. The issue of the authorities still remains, though. Apparently, the police are pushing for the child to be tried as an adult. That sucks, but it's nothing the child or any of his family can control. Conclusively, I'd say that he needs someone to figure out the "why" in the equation. He must've had reason or purpose. Once someone finds out even a vague idea of why he did it, I believe they'll have a better chance at correcting, not punishing.
What you say is true. I'm just saying that trying the kid as an adult won't help him at all either. He'll be in jail in this emotionally wrecked state.
Absotively posilutely. Jail is definitely not the answer. However, as I said, the police are pushing for him to be tried as an adult. More than anything, that saddens me. He's an entire decade below the legal age of adulthood. How can trying him as an adult ever be justified? In no way could he have ever made that decision, knowing all the consequences and subsequent events. I wish I could follow that story to see what happens. From the sound of it, though, it appears as if the law enforcement of that area is in need of more counseling than the child.
I said that he needed counseling because if no one tells him what he did was wrong, he will keep doing crimes until finally when he is an adult, he gets put in prison for a long time and then he knows what he did was wrong.
His father is dead. I'm almost positive he knows, by now, that he did wrong. Otherwise, leave it to his family to correct him. A counselor will give that generalized BS. A counselor is taught to recognize and react. They hear a bark, they say it's a dog- that sortta thing. A family member is much more likely to offer valuable correction for the child because they know and care for the child personally.
Yeah, I like the sound of a family member better. It gives him someone close to relate to. Someone quickly give this idea to the cops!
I've heard of 14 and 17 year olds sentenced to life in prison for mistakes, none of these people were bad, they just hung around with the wrong crowd or had some mental issues(as is with teenagers). Now of course this only happens in America, but it is wrong. I would much rather the death penalty than life in prison at my age.
Agreed. It goes to say with anything though. If you hang around the wrong group of people doing the wrong thing, you are probably going to get caught up doing that wrong thing. But now, the 14 and 17 year olds sentenced to life got what they deserved. They are old enough to make their own decisions and obviously they made the wrong one. It was their fault so they do the time.