10 year old kills 90 year old woman
- Thread starter ChainedMaster
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PARTYNEXTDOOR
Banned
Almost threw up in my mouth in disgust at this post.
I absolutely beg to differ. I disagree entirely with every single point there.
You know what? My two month stay in psychiatric care was the best thing that has ever happened to me. If you cared to experience what mental illness really is, maybe you would understand that there is always hope, and unbelievable things can be acheived with proper support.
But again, very few people understand mental health. Sigh.
NoCryingUntilTheEnd
Banned
So what you're saying is that at the age of 10, one has a fully developed understanding of death and murder and the severity of the two, correct?
At 10 you probably do.
I'm sure most people never fully understand death. According to this article, most kids start to understand death around age 3-4 and later aspects of it between age 5-7.
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/07/26/when-do-kids-understand-death/
Mackenzie 92
Member
News report said he actually hit her and bludgeoned her with the cane. WTF.
I get saying he can't be tried as an adult, but the other option is he's probably in juvie or a mental health hospital until he's 18 and then released to probably hurt someone else again.
Bad situation, but the kid probably needs to be locked up for life. I guarantee you this wasn't the first time he has abused the elderly woman. His grandfather probably knew about previous incidents as well, which is why he suspected him of hitting her and he needs to be held accountable as well.
I get saying he can't be tried as an adult, but the other option is he's probably in juvie or a mental health hospital until he's 18 and then released to probably hurt someone else again.
Bad situation, but the kid probably needs to be locked up for life. I guarantee you this wasn't the first time he has abused the elderly woman. His grandfather probably knew about previous incidents as well, which is why he suspected him of hitting her and he needs to be held accountable as well.
Coriolanus
Banned
Should send the mother to prison too.
And the neighbours too, they obviously also knew.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Yeah, because that's exactly what I said, and the mother and neighbors were also the deceased's caretakers.
Fuck off with bullshit like that, please.
Coriolanus
Banned
BertramCooper
Banned
This is quite honestly one of the most distributing threads I've ever read on GAF.
Anyone who thinks that a 10-year-old child should be tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison is unfathomably ignorant.
Anyone who thinks that a 10-year-old child should be tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison is unfathomably ignorant.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Yes because he was the caretaker responsible for her and present at all times.
And the first thing he did was ask the kid if he hit her. Oh gee, what can we possibly infer from that? I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that this wasn't the first time and that the grandfather possibly knew about it.
I said nothing about the parents or neighbors and I didn't mean to imply we should lock the caretaker up without a thorough investigation.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Well your typical 10 year old child doesn't go around beating elderly people to death.
I'm open to other opinions on the matter, but I'm just not sure what you do. Institutionalize him until he's 18 and then set him free? It's a messed up situation with no easy answer.
Ingueferroque
Banned
I wonder what some of you think needs to happen to Anders Breivik, launched into space?
Did the kid plan on killing the poor old lady? Did he know that his actions would cause her death? I doubt these things, and I doubt that having him tried as an adult is the proper response.
Uh, he didn't 'go around beating elderly people to death', he had an altercation with a 90 year old which caused her to die.
Did the kid plan on killing the poor old lady? Did he know that his actions would cause her death? I doubt these things, and I doubt that having him tried as an adult is the proper response.
Uh, he didn't 'go around beating elderly people to death', he had an altercation with a 90 year old which caused her to die.
Well. Everyone has said what I wanted to. 10 year old needs help, not to be thrown into our broken criminal justice system.
I do have 1 question though, folks promoting a 10 year old be thrown in prison. Do you have any idea that the criminal justice system is broken? Meaning, there is no help or aid this child will get in jail outside of benefiting the private prison he is in. There will be no chance to contribute in any way to society, outside of taking your taxes.
The system is broken. Throwing more bodies into it, knowing its broken, is another level of disgusting.
Its no wonder that no one cares about the demographics in prison with a mindset that its just a place to put bad things.
I do have 1 question though, folks promoting a 10 year old be thrown in prison. Do you have any idea that the criminal justice system is broken? Meaning, there is no help or aid this child will get in jail outside of benefiting the private prison he is in. There will be no chance to contribute in any way to society, outside of taking your taxes.
The system is broken. Throwing more bodies into it, knowing its broken, is another level of disgusting.
Its no wonder that no one cares about the demographics in prison with a mindset that its just a place to put bad things.
SkeptiMism
Member
Not every person is the same nor does every person have the same living environment.
A 10-year-old knows what's right and wrong, but he literally can not weigh his decisions, especially with anger impulses, the same way an adult could because his brain isn't nearly as developed.
There's no easy, simple answer here for sure, but it'd be good to begin with getting the boy into mental care. After that do regular checks and see how he develops.
edit:
I'll add my opinion too that some of the posts in this thread have been about as disturbing as the premise of the thread. Especially that post calling for execution for the kid. I sincerely hope it was some kind of sick sarcasm.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Really? He had an altercation with a 90 year old woman that caused her to die?
Are you being serious right now?
CitizenCope
Member
30 and I'd be good.
JinjoUnchained
Member
Outraged poster: "Can't believe they're charging a 10 year old as an adult, this is outrageous!"
Translation: "Violent sociopaths: get your killing out of the way before you hit puberty and you're good!"
Come on, the kid is 10. That's old enough to know what death is and to know that it's wrong to be violent. I try to be sympathetic and think that maybe the kid just didn't get it; perhaps he was deeply repressed or his moral compass was screwed up by shitting parenting. That would be tragic, but you wouldn't let a violent 20 year old with that background walk the streets and the same should apply here. Might not even be his fault and he might not be able to control it, but he's a danger to society.
Translation: "Violent sociopaths: get your killing out of the way before you hit puberty and you're good!"
Come on, the kid is 10. That's old enough to know what death is and to know that it's wrong to be violent. I try to be sympathetic and think that maybe the kid just didn't get it; perhaps he was deeply repressed or his moral compass was screwed up by shitting parenting. That would be tragic, but you wouldn't let a violent 20 year old with that background walk the streets and the same should apply here. Might not even be his fault and he might not be able to control it, but he's a danger to society.
AgentP
Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
The frontal lobe responsible for keeping emotion in check doesn't fully develop until age 25 for males. Do we hold children to the same standards as adults? What if a three year old did it?
I'm actually trying to puzzle out the likely lowest age range that people will go "lock 'em up and throw away the key!" for. 10 is clearly too old. 0-3 is probably too young.
This leaves a possible minimum "throw 'em in jail" range of 4-9 years old.
StickSoldier
Member
Well it goes to say, is it even possible for this kid to ever live a normal life after this incident? No matter how much counseling he goes through, this is something he's going to live with for the rest of his life. I'm not saying the kid needs to be put in a prison with adults, but he seriously needs some help/punishment. This case is very unique though, what do you do? I mean, in a sense he needs to be punished some way right? You don't let someone get away with murder. And the kids mentality was to do harm to another person, so it's not like
he was ignorant to what he was doing. But do you just lock him up and take care of him for 70+ years that he might end up living? Take him through some sort of counselling and let him out after to see if he's able to function as a civilized person? What the hell is he going to do with this on his record? Shit, this is a terrible case to be part of.
he was ignorant to what he was doing. But do you just lock him up and take care of him for 70+ years that he might end up living? Take him through some sort of counselling and let him out after to see if he's able to function as a civilized person? What the hell is he going to do with this on his record? Shit, this is a terrible case to be part of.
OpinionatedCyborg
Member
Antisocial behaviours and personality traits are often transient and amenable to rehabilitation in children, particularly one in his age group. The only type of criminal that is likely incapable of rehabilitation is the psychopath (a subset of sociopath/ASPD). However, research has shown that identifying psychopathy in children is fraught with error. Furthermore, many children identified as conduct disordered or psychopathic grow out of it; they are unlike adults whose personality traits have crystallized.
It is a waste of human and monetary resources to treat children as adults, not to mention ethically deplorable.
Sato Koiji
Member
My thoughts exactly...
Wow...
You knocked your mother out because of ice cream...wow...I mean....wow
PeregrinSe7en
Member
unfortunately it has to be this way sometimes. the kid could grow up to be a raging maniac, perhaps like that mma fighter who maliciously beat his pornstar girlfriend.
GameAddict411
Member
A kid at that age should easily know that beating someone to death is not ok.
He didn't beat her to death. She died from injuries caused by him, but he didn't beat her to death. Probably injuries most people would easily live from but she's 90, frail and refused medical help. Him being 10, I'm going to guess he didn't factor that in.
But man you people are bunch of psychos.
This.
Unfortunately society in the United States has been brain washed by the "tough on crime" politicians. Playing on peoples fears and imposing longer and tougher sentences for no scientific reason other than imaging. Kids have been dragged into this with a rush to punish them as adults ealier and ealier.
sandalphon
Member
RIP
Kid shouldnt be tried as adults, specially not at 10 years of age, wth.
Kid shouldnt be tried as adults, specially not at 10 years of age, wth.
CornBurrito
Member
So why can't 10 year old humans consent to sex or vote or drink or drive? I'd like an answer from someone who has argued that 10 year old humans are fully capable of understanding both the bodily fragility of the elderly, and the full social and moral ramifications that come with hitting (and accidentally) killing another human.
JinjoUnchained
Member
You clearly come from a more technical background, and I respect that. So let me ask, is there some magical age where "personality traits have crystallized" and are people not responsible for their actions before that? I get it if you're talking about a 4 year old kid that might not even know what death is; they're not culpable if they don't even know what they're doing. This kid was much older than that, though. We should expect kids at that age to know what death is and, even if they haven't yet developed a conscience, to manage any violent impulses the same way adults do.
The other issue is that there are two main purposes of criminal punishment: A.) removing dangerous criminals from everyday society and B.) punishing violators as a deterrent to others. Even if a murderer of any age legitimately rehabilitates before the term of their sentence, the should still have to serve it out to deter other potential murderers. We don't want to send the message that it's OK to kill people so long as you plan to rehabilitate somewhere down the line.
To be clear, I don't think this kid should be treated the same way as an adult completely. He shouldn't go to adult prison and the sentencing should take his age into consideration. But he's old enough to know what death is and that violence is wrong, so his punishment should fit the crime.
TriniTrin
war of titties grampa
I don't think he should be tried as an adult but he definitely need help.
I laugh at all of you people on both sides of the extreme fences. The kid is 10 and should not be tried as an adult but on the flip side, he intended to hurt his grandmother and he killed her.
The people that are talking like the boy did nothing are extremely crazy. comments like "What part of refusing medical aid don't you understand" as a response to the kid killing his grandmother, what the fuck.... You are just as crazy as the people advocating life in prison/ death penalty for the kid. He INTENDED TO HARM, and accidentally Killed someone.....
I laugh at all of you people on both sides of the extreme fences. The kid is 10 and should not be tried as an adult but on the flip side, he intended to hurt his grandmother and he killed her.
The people that are talking like the boy did nothing are extremely crazy. comments like "What part of refusing medical aid don't you understand" as a response to the kid killing his grandmother, what the fuck.... You are just as crazy as the people advocating life in prison/ death penalty for the kid. He INTENDED TO HARM, and accidentally Killed someone.....
Well he wouldn't be put with the rest of the adult population until he became an adult, not that I think he should be tried as an adult at all.
CornBurrito
Member
But he didn't beat the woman to death, nor is it clear that he even intended to kill her. He hit an elderly woman out of anger, and she then refused to go to the hospital, and then she died. Knowing that violence is wrong is also probably fairly difficult for a 10 year old child. Our culture pays lip service to violence being wrong but does everything it can to glorify violence.
Very easy when you are making powerless knee jerk reactions on an anonymous message board.
Yeah, that's a key difference people seem to be missing. Suits the narrative of the demon child beyond salvation though. :/
JinjoUnchained
Member
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the story indicates that he beat the elderly woman, he didn't just hit her. Not to death, but he beat her just the same. If you assault someone severely, even if you weren't trying to "finish the job", the law holds you responsible if they die, and rightly so.
Even taking that all into account, 10 years old should be old enough to know not to violently assault a frail elderly person. I agree that intent should be factored into any punishment handed down, it would be worse if he was actually trying to kill her. But it's still a heinous crime that a kid that age should know is wrong.
As for the media violence angle, I'm definitely sympathetic to impressionable young kids that grow up on violent video games and action movies. It's definitely a mixed message we send to the youngsters and we as a society should not do that. Still, it's no excuse for violent crimes. We can't have kids running around bludgeoning the elderly without repurcussions because their parents let them play COD.
Edit: YMMV may vary on what a "beating" is. He used a weapon to restrain her and hit her multiple times; that's a beating in my book. Some may disagree if it was only a couple of strikes. I stand by my overall point in either case.
CornBurrito
Member
I'll just focus on this part for now, but I'm not saying there should be zero repercussions. I just don't think he should be treated as an adult. I also don't get why some people are arguing that a 10 year old fully understands the legal/social/moral ramifications of every action they do. Such an argument would mean that there's no reason a 10 year old can't consent to sex, or smoke/drive/vote. Pretty much any age restriction above 10 would be unjustifiable if 10 year olds truly are capable of fully understanding the consequences and meaning of their actions.
JinjoUnchained
Member
The difference between sex and violence is that a 10 year old child is not even physically capable of having sex, but is capable of killing. So most societies don't expose children to even the idea of sex until nearing or reaching puberty. Hence, a 10 year old can't consent to sex because they wouldn't even know what it is. Same thing with smoking/drinking/driving; a 10 year old child is not even physically old enough to partake in those activities.
Violence is different. From the age of being a toddler, kids are told not to hit or hurt others. A 10 year old child may not be able to drink alcohol or reach the gas pedal and the steering wheel at the same time, but they're old enough to swing a hammer at another kid, push someone off a balcony, or any other number of deadly activities. In the specific area of violence, we need to teach people and hold people accountable at a much younger age. Clearly the "teach people" part didn't happen in this case, tragically.
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