12 Yr Old Beats, Rapes Toddler

[Ramo]

Or maybe the state should try to rehabilitate him before assuming that he's a permanent threat.

[asleepathewheel]

He is not elligible for LWOP, according to the article. 21 then out.

I doubt 12 year olds are waivable (or whatever the equivalent is) in Mass.

[Shi Huangdi]

We'd have to check that out, I know some states (rightfully) allow juvenniles to be tried as adults in extreme cases, I know that was done with the school shootings in every state except Arkansas.

[Shi Huangdi]

looked it up, asleepatthewheel is correct. In Massachusets you need to be 14 to be tried in adult court.

[asleepathewheel]

And Mass is, I think, the only state that allows Juveniles to have a jury. Who knows if you would want one in ths case, but its a very unusual option.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
This reminds me of a famous child murder case that occurred in Chicago twenty years ago. A 10 year old boy shoved an 18 month old child out of a window. The toddler died, the 10 year old was arraigned and released into the custody of his mother. Less than a week later "Yummy's" repeatedly stabbed body was found underneath a bridge. Is that what you had in mind?

While in this case the perpetrator may have been molested bear in mind that kids that age often engage in same sex experimentation regardless of their true orientation. Combine that with exposure to sex and violence, and even sexual violence via the media, then it's easy to see that even a kid who hadn't been sexually abused might perpetrate such a crime.

Well something eroded this kid's ability to sense or respect boundaries in a big way. This wasn't sexual experimentation, he used this toddler and threw him away like a condom. I'd wager that the perpetrator was either sexually molested or violently abused, and perhaps both. A kid of this age who is this sexually violent is a rarity either way, but I doubt that he was simply playing too much GTA or watching too many slasher flicks.

[Last Conformist]

Where are people getting all this faith in deterence?

[civman2000]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi


12 years old is old enough to know what you are doing. You have to balance the rights of the person, with the need to protect society. Until we have a better idea as to why this 12 year old raped and killed his brother, then we shouldn't be letting him back into society.

Secondly, if the kid has some sick and confused ideas, then we are not doing him any good by releasing him. He needs to be in the care of others, not left to these same ideas again.

I'm not saying he should be released, I'm just saying that calling for the death penalty or life in prison automatically is insane.

Or maybe the state should try to rehabilitate him before assuming that he's a permanent threat.

. IMHO, everyone can be rehabilitated; no one can be irrevocably evil.

We'd have to check that out, I know some states (rightfully) allow juvenniles to be tried as adults in extreme cases, I know that was done with the school shootings in every state except Arkansas.

This disgusts me. First, on principle, it disturbs me that people who are still mentally immature children can be tried as adults, and that the seriousness of the case should have anything to do with it. Sure, there are some individual cases where it may be appropriate, but I think it would be better to restrict the option in general. Secondly, I find it extremely unfair to try anyone who does not yet have the right to vote or the other rights that come with majority as an adult. If they're not mature enough to be trusted with the basic priviledges of our society, why should we demand that they have all the responsibilities that come with maturity? It's a doubles standard! If the voting age was, say, lowered to 16, I would have no problem (in most cases) with trying 16-year-olds as adults.

[Ljube]

You are such a mob. You would lynch the boy without sufficient proof of his guilt.

The story is farfetched. The boy pleaded not guilty, which isn't something a 12 year old boy who did anything like this would do. I say wait and see, though in view of the juvenile justice system in America it is very probable the blame will be cast on the boy.

A more likely culprit is one of his older relatives, I say.

[Last Conformist]

Originally posted by Ljube-ljcvetko
The story is farfetched. The boy pleaded not guilty, which isn't something a 12 year old boy who did anything like this would do.

This is something you know thru a long experience with 12-year-olds who perpetrate sex crimes?

[Ljube]

No, long experience with justice system.

EDIT: And there aren't 12 years olds who perpetrate sex crimes.

[Last Conformist]

Originally posted by Ljube-ljcvetko
No, long experience with justice system.

"I've studied the justice system, so I know how 12-year-olds think."

You're not making a good job in the convincing department.

EDIT: And there aren't 12 years olds who perpetrate sex crimes.

And you just know that?

[Ljube]

Well, I'd like to see more people like me on this boy's jury. People who would judge by evidence, not stories from the police and the prosecutor's office.

I'm afraid, looking at the kind of replies here, the boy is doomed.

I'm not declaring him innocent or guilty. I'm just saying that he being charged with a crime means nothing. There were many cases where innocent people were being charged even convicted.


This post is not a reply to your post cause I want to end the discussion based on bits of information and a shocking story told by TV or newspaper reporters.

[Last Conformist]

How can you simultaneously hold that 12-year-olds don't commit sex crimes and not claim to know whether the boy is innocent?

(NB: This isn't a discussion based on bits of info from the media, but one addressing the apparent contradictions in your posts.)

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by Ljube-ljcvetko

EDIT: And there aren't 12 years olds who perpetrate sex crimes.

I'm stunned! This comment reminds me of the spanish judge who threw some vacationing soldiers into jail as thieves on the testimony of some children. His comment was something like "children dont lie" and he ignored the evidence that the children in question were in fact the pickpockets.