Day 42: Should a 12-year-old be tried as an adult?

For the past three weeks or so, I've been blogging in the Talk of the Day blog on STLtoday.com. It doesn't take a whole lot of creativity, but I always take the time to research hot news topics in order to stir up discussion. Sometimes it works really well and extremely heated debates boil up. Last week I asked the question, "Should a 12-year-old be tried as an adult?" and got a record 81 comments in the blog. I'm posting the blog entry below, followed by my favorite comment of the insane conversation that followed:

"Last week we discussed the heinous crimes committed by youngsters. Now it’s time to think about the repurcussions.

If the 12-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing Alexus Purtty is tried as an adult, he will become the youngest suspect in the St. Louis area to stand trial as an adult for murder. The court will decide Sept. 17 if this will happen. They will take several things into account:

Kathryn Herman, assistant city juvenile court administrator, said the law requires a review of 10 factors, including viciousness of a crime, the suspect’s record and home life, and his or her age.

A 2003 Associated Press story challenges whether young teenagers should be tried as adults. It discusses a study on the cognitive abilities of kids to understand court proceedings:

Subjects were given intelligence tests and asked to respond to several hypothetical legal situations, such as whether to confess to a police officer. The results found that one-third of those 11 to 13 and one-fifth of those 14 or 15 could not understand the proceedings or help lawyers defend them. The study recommends that states reconsider the minimum age for juveniles to be tried as adults or to develop a system for evaluating young defendants’ competence.

How do you think courts should try and punish children in murder cases? Is a 12-year-old competent enough to stand trial as an adult?"

Below is the most controversial comment (it raised a flurry of responses in agreement and quite a few in utter disagreement). Looking beyond any perceived racism, I tend to agree with the commenter. It's insane how many people think it was society's/his parents'/the government's/the police's fault that he murdered this girl. My honest opinion is that the law follows the rule of CRIME and PUNISHMENT. If you commit a crime, you must be punished for it. It's really irrelevant whether you feel bad about it or not. And there's no reason this crime should be erased from his record at age 21. He murdered. He should be tried the same way as any other murderer. Here's the #1 most replied to comment:

That this black thug could so easily take the life of a young girl and have people like yourselves defending him goes a long way towards explaining how we got to this point in our country, and why there is no going back.

I guess the absurdities that are accepted in the black culture have finally just become acceptable to everyone else as well - meaning that you all probably think that this murderer is just a “baby,” and that he isn’t responsible for his horrific actions because he’s just a “disadvantaged youth,” and that this black girl’s life didn’t matter because, hey, “She jus’ a FEE-male.” Ironically, this poor girl, in her willingness to actually confront the black thug in the first place, when she suspected him of trespassing at her house, demonstrated self-respect, bravery, a belief in fairness, and concern for her family - qualities which are not only admirable, but which are in complete contradiction to traditional black female behavior. And how very sad, but typical, that her own mother, even in the wake of her death, refuses to exhibit any of these qualities, as evidenced by the fact that she had no trouble getting on TV, not shedding a tear, and blaming the PO-leece, the city, etc. - everyone, of course, but that black male who murdered her daughter.

But hey, it’s good to know that you all are so concerned for this murdering “baby.” Because, after all, once all of these “babies” have taken over our country, I’m sure they’ll reciprocate your decency, and sensitivity, and tolerance, and generosity.
Comment by Carrie K. — July 11, 2007 @ 11:59 pm