"He's 7 years old. Do you believe he has the mental capacity to understand what he did?"
When I was about 3 (this is what my mother told me), my father took me to the grocery store, and I wanted a candy bar. He said "no"; I decided to take it anyway. We were about to leave the cashier when he discovered what I had in my hand. I was promptly spanked *in front of the cashier* and told to give it back. To this day I have never even thought about stealing anything.
Even though I don't remember the incident, I certainly learned my lesson - at 3 years old, no less. How's that for mental capacity? However cliche it sounds, it's squarely his parents' fault for not teaching him the value of right and wrong at a younger age.
Unless he's retarded I don't buy this he didn't understand what he was doing excuse either. A year ago when my son was two, he understood what dead was. This boy was jealous, in a rage, and took action. That being said, I don't know what you do in this kind of case. He's not going to be executed so what do you do? It's a very sad and scary story.
This child has not recieved correction, obviously. So who is at fault. I say let's execute the parents (if anybody).