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Two juveniles face charges of aggravated arson in connection with Tennessee wildfire

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CNN said:
Two juveniles face charges of aggravated arson in connection with a deadly Tennessee wildfire that began in late November and spread to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, according to Mark Gwyn, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Additional charges are being considered, 4th District Attorney General James Dunn said, including the possibility of seeking a transfer to adult criminal court.

Fourteen people lost their lives in the fires and a further 134 were injured, according to officials. Residents and visitors to the resort-heavy area were among the dead.

The fires gnawed away over 1,600 structures, scorching homes, cabins and churches along a fiery path through Sevier County.
 

RinsFury

Member
They basically murdered 14 people and ruined to lives of countless others. As they are juveniles, how do you even punish that?
 

norm9

Member
No, trying minors as adults shouldn't even be an option, it doesn't matter what they did or what the consequences of their actions were. Minors belong in a juvenile court!

Do bad grownup shit, get judged like one.
 
No, trying minors as adults shouldn't even be an option, it doesn't matter what they did or what the consequences of their actions were. Minors belong in a juvenile court!

I disagree, 14 murders cant just be free, old enough to start a fire for fun or whatever other reason, old enough to face the consecuences
 

Anticol

Banned
To the people saying the shouldn't be try them as adults, what's kind of huge difference is in the mind of a 16/17 year old and a 18 year old? is it really that huge?

These guys killed 14 people, injured more than a hundred and according to some they don't deserve to be punish.
 

Velcro Fly

Member
I think they've been saying all along they believed the fire that started all this to be purposely set.

And it isn't just 14 murders. It is a whole lot of property damage, economic harm, etc.

How many people lost everything in this?

If they are like 16-17, just try them as adults.
 
To the people saying the shouldn't be try them as adults, what's kind of huge difference is in the mind of a 16/17 year old and a 18 year old? is it really that huge?

These guys killed 14 people, injured more than a hundred and according to some they don't deserve to be punish.

We don't know they're 16/17 though...

And it's really weird to me that the law establishes multiple times in this country that 18 = adulthood, yet when someone does something terrible we decide they're adults before turning 18. Makes no sense.
 
They basically murdered 14 people and ruined to lives of countless others. As they are juveniles, how do you even punish that?

How long is it possible to mandate voluntary service? They should be forced to volunteer in in a burn ward for the longest possible time
 

E92 M3

Member
No, trying minors as adults shouldn't even be an option, it doesn't matter what they did or what the consequences of their actions were. Minors belong in a juvenile court!

LOL WUT.

So many lives were lost because of their stupidity.

Try them as adults and teach a lesson.
 

mackattk

Member
I don't know anything about them, but I would be pretty surprised if they meant for things to get this out of control with the fires. Probably just some stupid kids playing with fire and they didn't know what could happen.

I am not sure how you really punish something like this; but to put things in some perspective, there are people serving life prisons in jail over simple marijuana possession. They caused the deaths of 14 people and affected the lives of hundreds.
 
I don't know how to feel on this. One one hand 14 people are dead. On the other hand these were kids that probably thought they were just starting a small fire and ever expected it to get as out of hand as it got.

But on the other other hand....14 fucking people are dead.
 
If they are possibly going to be charged as adults, they aren't four or seven years old.

My point is that if we've decided that 18 is an adult, why do we change that based on how bad a crime is? A minor is a minor. End of discussion.

And if we do change it, how do we weigh the crime vs age?

If the arsonists were 17 but killed only 1 person, do we still try as an adult?

If they are 14 and kill 100, try as an adult?
 
Pretty much. Will teach other kids to not be dumb idiots.

It will? These other kids gonna definitely be well informed about these court proceedings and judgements huh?

It's not going to keep kids from being dumb. It's just going to ruin their lives, and i'm not defending them either. I don't know their age, or what, but I find it hard to believe it was a deliberate case of LETS BURN THIS WHOLE FUCKER DOWN. But arguing that throwing the hammer down on these kids will somehow leave an impression on other kids, is well, a bit naive.
 

ahoyhoy

Unconfirmed Member
I think it depends on the circumstances.

If this was just a couple of kids plying with matches or trying to burn an anthill that got out of control, I think we should place more sympathy with them.

With the charge of aggravated arson, though, I suspect the fire was started aggressively and with full intent to destroy something substantial, which is certainly less sympathetic.
 

GulAtiCa

Member
How they are tried all depends on how old they are.

If they are 15, 16 or 17, yeah throw the god damn book at them and try them as adults.

A 10 year old should be tried as a minor/etc.
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Barring some malicious intent, I don't think adult charges are appropriate. It is an absolutely terrible thing that happened, but no point in ruining two more lives by throwing them in jail forever.
 

Velcro Fly

Member
when they turn legal they can get trialed then. or they get trialed as an adult now.

I may be incorrect but waiting for them to age out of juvenile court and then springing the trap on them sounds way more illegal than just trying them as adults right now.
 

1044

Member
330288.jpg
 

F0rneus

Tears in the rain
14 murders and the loss of a thousand homes cannot be swept away because they aren't adults. This is not a little teenage mistake. Charge them as adults.
 

Jenov

Member
No, trying minors as adults shouldn't even be an option, it doesn't matter what they did or what the consequences of their actions were. Minors belong in a juvenile court!

Naw, don't do that. There needs to be exceptions. Mexico did that and you know what happened? Drug cartels started recruiting teenagers to do their killings and tortures because they were only given minimum juvenile sentences...
 

mackattk

Member
I guess the real question is what is the extent of the initial cause of the fire? If they were just playing around burning paper or fireworks or whatever and had no real intention of hurting people/property that is a completely different issue than something with some real criminal intent.

A lot of teenagers play around with fire, even in forests. East TN has just been really dry over the past few months and this is one of the few times that a fire of this magnitude was even possible. I guess all we can do is wait around until we know more.
 

ahoyhoy

Unconfirmed Member
Naw, don't do that. There needs to be exceptions. Mexico did that and you know what happened? Drug cartels started recruiting teenagers to do their killings and tortures because they were only given minimum juvenile sentences...

The exceptions should be laid out then, not left up to the judge's discretion.
 
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