I read this thread a while ago and have returned to it three times because of this statement. I wasn't going to respond but on the third read I have to.
I swear, I am not "picking on your post" but I cannot imagine anyone advocating death of a child because he is mentally ill. This is a child. A living breathing child. Who are "we" to deem him hopeless? We don't even know why he was in a mental hospital or what his diagnosis was.
The whole situation is so tragic that it should bring us to our knees in prayer for the family AND especially the child.
If the kid and the grandfather were alone, how do we know that the grandfather didn't have the gun out or that he didn't let the boy handle the gun with an accident following?
This is just horribly sad all the way around. It really breaks my heart.
It is horribly sad all around, and of course we don't know enough to actually make the decision I suggested. But from what is known, this kid is living and will continue to live in a state of complete hostility and misery due to some very serious brain defect, and he WILL kill again. My post was more about differentiating between "the death penalty" which is a punitive measure, and "euthanasia" which is a merciful measure, than about actually advocating terminating this messed up kid. We need to be merciful both to these horribly defective youngsters and to their future victims. We do not need to be thinking about punishment, as it is wholly unwarranted.