I was looking up some stuff for my legal studies class about the law and how it applies to children and was shocked to find how many cases there actually are of kids under 14 committing murder and getting charged.
I’m asking is it right to sentence children to harsh prison terms for crimes the committed… they’re just kids… aren’t they still under the care of the state? I just turned 16 and really couldn’t imagine that at 12 I had a full understanding of what my actions meant. There are many more cases of other kids getting their hands on guns and shooting each other without understanding what they are doing. How much is society to blame for this?
In Australia I think the youngest murderer convicted in recent times was 14.
Well, I think at that age they’re old enough to understand the consequences of their actions. I read about a boy who was 9 years old who went on a random killing spree around an Australian Zoo. I don’t know if he got charged but he should have, because they say violence upon animals has led to violence against other humans. The one thing most serial killers have in common, they say, is that they tortured or killed animals in their youth.
Yeah, I’ve heard about this sort of thing. It’s slightly unnerving that a child of that sort of age would be able to commit murder, but it all depends on the individual case, and that also applies to whether or not they should be punished. If the child can understand the consequences of their actions, then they should be trialled as an adult. If the child is clearly not mature enough to understand their actions, and thinks it’s a game or something, then yes, they should be punished, but in a way that also makes them see the error of their ways, so perhaps not as harshly.
Anyway, some of these kids might be psychopaths, and that’s a biological problem that’s inherited, as opposed to the child being ‘evil’.
Whoa. That young, and already commiting murder?
Perhaps they’ve watched too many movies that use violence not for them.
I don’t think they are mature enough to realize their actions’ impacts on others, nor understand how wrong and serious it is.
I remember seeing on the news that a 2nd grader stole his parents’ car keys and actually drove around like crazy. The police said that at first they thought they were tracking down a drunk driver, but became completely horrified to see it was a mere 2nd grader. And the kid’s parents got blamed.
It’s all rather shocking to me. I think the kid(s) may have thought it was cool to do such things either to get attention, or because they watch so much violence and/or think life’s like the video games.
i can’t believe that kids would do such things…but then again i remember when one day a boy i think he was like 12 was going to explode himself in a busy iraqi street. Soldiers convinced him not to and he is safe today but just the idea of blowing ones self up…Why?
That young, and already commiting murder?