Just for the record - I lost a cousin to rape and murder. At the hands of five people aged 14-22. And for at least the youngest of them, this was something that 'just happened' to them and he did have no idea of the seriousness of what he'd done.
He's now been in prison nineteen years. And his papers are stamped never to be released.
That's not the US - it's an Australian case. But it's left me interested in these issues and following them around the world and including in the US. What happened is hardly unique.
Do I think he deserved to be punished? Yes, I do. For the level of culpability and understanding he had as a fourteen year old who had basically had no effective parenting since he was at least nine, and who had not been involved in any serious crime until he was finally taken in by a group of older people which included hardened criminals.
First let me post a disclaimer..I don't equate humans with animals, but some of our behavior is similar.
I recently read an article that detailed a study about a group of young elephants that were separated from their mothers and their herd. They had no teachers. They became dangerous “rogues”.
So my question is this..Do we isolate the dangerous rogues, even though we have compassion for their circumstances? Or do we allow them to run over society?
What would a good, realistic answer be?
Moreover, if that were truly the case (and you didn't have the opportunity to see the perp's juvenile record - it's sealed) there would be consideration in sentencing.
Parenting or no parenting, a 14 year old knows that killing another human being is wrong. If you deny that, you deny his ability to THINK. In which case a defense of mental retardation would have been interposed.
It's not a perfect system, but the chances of a kid who has had no contact with law enforcement or the juvenile system being tried as an adult and sentenced to life without parole are quite slim. There are just too many gateways and hoops to jump through before you get to that end result.