8 year old to be tried as "adult"

But why?

Clearly this is a little kiid.

Yes, and?

David has already said as an adult he has the mind of an 8 year old. So clearly 8 year old minds are adult in some instances.

Being aware and truely understanding are two different things David.

An adult and an 8 year old do not, in any way shape or form, think alike.

An 8 year old should never be tried as an adult.

The very concept is ridiculous.

Well, of course. That's why OmSig David is in favor of it. But not to worry. It doesn't appear that the judge is of a like opinion.

Well, you have made me merry, Andrew.

You might want to get a copy of Robert Hare's little book about psychopaths and what makes them tick. It's a born condition just like Down Syndrome and it is usually obvious by age seven or eight. IF that's what's involved then it's odd that the father never suspected anything.

Its a distinction without a difference in principle.

From my remembering being that age
and from my remembering kids of that age by whom I was surrounded,
I am 100% confident that
(unless he had some odd mental impairment that most kids don 't have)
he fully knew and understood what he was doing
and he did it because chose to be a murderer.
In other words, he opted to include murder among the instruments
that he used to conform his environment to his wishes.

He thought that mendacity and deception woud save him from retributive justice.
The sweetness and beauty of children shoud not cause us to deny reality.
If he had not understood the crime that he committed,
he woud not have tried to lie his way out of it; his endeavor to escape
is indicative of perceived guilt.

Saying that he is just a little kid
is as pointless as saying that some other killer was 30 not 50;
it does not make a difference, as it woud if he were so young
as not to be able to walk or talk; if such a person caused the death
of another it must be deemed an accident.





David

I take your meaning,
but it remains true that the kid I was remains intact inside of me.
Its just that the outside is fatter, older n uglier.

Well, I have been BOTH, and I do not remember any discrete
point in time (not when I reached 18 nor 21),
that I decided I had been rong and abruptly changed my mind,
except if considering newly arrived evidence.
Off hand, I don t remember changing my mind about anything.

I infer that U DID.





David

That sounds interesting. Do you know the title of the book?

I spend nearly every waking minute dealing with a psychologically complicated 7 year old child (not nearly as complicated as this boy was, thank goodness) so I know that the seeds of mental illness are planted early. I agree that it's odd that the father didn't suspect anything. My situation is not nearly as severe and I noticed problems years ago.

And I wasn't the only one -- teachers noticed too and we spent quite a bit of time talking together about it. It's hard to believe that if this kid had some kind of problem that his teachers hadn't noticed and brought it to the father's attention.

It will be interesting to learn some more about this boy's history.

That might be the most ridiculous single sentence I have ever read in my life.

The book is called "Without Conscience" and is reputedly the best layman's level treatise on the topic. Hare worked in the Canadian prison system for thirty years or thereabouts and the study of psychopaths is a lifetime project for him. He said there's no such thing as a parent of a psychopathic child who wouldn't be happy to hand the kid over to some government agency at ate seven or eight.

Will u tell us the specific reason for that ?
Is it only that he does not have a conscience,
or is there destructive objective conduct ?
Malice ?





David

Do u mean to say that your boy has shown signs of mental illness ?

It isn't what I mean to say, it's what I said.

No way this kid should be treated as an adult. The prosecutor that suggested it should be sent to spend some time in a third grade classroom of behavior disordered boys and then in an adult male prison.

I think he'd note a difference, if not in the thought processes, at least in the feasibility of assisting the third graders in becoming mentally healthy adults. You can't write off an eight year old.

I did not mean to offend u; I just did not want to misinterpret u.

Do u wish to indicate the problem ?

If that is too personal, then please ignore the question.

He is a predatory person.
If I understand the facts accurately,
he has admitted to plotting and executing 2 murders
of people who meant him no harm (including his dad).

Is it within the fullness of all human knowledge
HOW to fix such a brain ?

I don 't think it is.

Correct me if I am rong.





David

He suffered from neglect and eventual abandonment from his birth parents. It manifests itself in "adjustment disorder with depression and anxiety".

What people do to little kids, infants even, has a huge impact on how their brains develop and who they become. Luckily there are a lot of non-pharmacutical interventions that can "rewire" behavior if you recognize there is a problem and dedicate yourself to helping them overcome it, and if you start when they're young..