Juvenile Death Penalty

[ladysycamore]

Originally posted by Shattered Soul


That one's a toughie. On the one hand, if you're talking about a six-year-old who runs amok in a china store, yes, I think the parents should be held responsible. However, when it comes to things like murder and rape, criminal acts that a "child" does deliberately, then no, I don't think the parents should be held accountable unless they instigated the action.

In total agreement on that point.

(I'm using the term "child" to mean little people 10 and up but under 21. I believe that in some cases, younger children commit crimes, but in those cases, I believe, not that they may not know what they're doing is wrong, but that they're still young enough to be rehabilitated)

If the government would chill out about what is considered abuse and what is considered discipline, and if first-time offenses were punished more severely, I don't think this problem would have gone so far. Leaving bruises/scars/breaking bones/skin is abuse. Slapping a hand, withholding a privilege, or taking the kid who deserves it out to the woodshed isn't.

Wow, you are hitting all points with me on that! I also think that a juvenile's record should NOT be sealed and wiped clean. If a child has a history of being violent, and he/she lives in my neighborhood, goddamnit I think I have a right to know that I live near a possible "career criminal".

Coddling our kids too much is what warps their little personalities, not smacking them on the bottom when they need it.

Preach on!!!!