Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
The judge failed society here, the parents suffered before they died, the brother suffered before he was finished off. I have no sympathy for her whatsoever. But 6 years in and 4 years out is hardly the atonement needed for an intentional act.
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So again I ask, what's justice in this case? Think about how much you grew and changed from the time you were 13 until you were 19. I was a selfish person at 13 as well. Not so much at 19. It's not that I think 6 years is a lot. I don't. I just realize that the years she will spend in prison are some of the most developmental a person can go through. Life is a never ending learning cycle granted, but think of all the things you learned about life between 13 and 19.
Again, I'll go back to the sex. Let's not even look at her case here for a second. A 12 year old can plan and have intentional sex. Possibly even get pregnant. They sneak about and make plans to cover their tracks with their friends, plan alibis and such so they don't get caught doing that. Do you really think they are fully aware of the life altering consequences of such an act? Is that little girl a ho for life because she planned and had intentional sex at the age of 12? If she does get pregnant, do you think she realized beforehand just what that meant for her? yet in such a case, we don't really punish the 12 year old, we punish the person they have sex with. Why is that? Because they don't understand the consequences of their actions. Because they aren't mentally prepared for what they're about to go through in life, regardless even of whether or not they get pregnant.
Could the sentence have been longer? Sure. Let's even say 12 years would be good. She'd then be 25 and would probably at that point in time have a decent grip on reality. But 25 years? What stages of development would her still growing mind go through during that period of time? Denial, acceptance, regret, remorse, sadness, depression, anger, hate, vengence....
To me it's not all about what's appropriate for her crime, it's also about what's appropriate for her mental development. How long is long enough to punish without making her worse than before? How long is enough to teach her a lesson without filling her with anger and hatred?
Again, the years between 13 and 19 are quite formative and the system has a chance to change her. Anything more than enough time to rehabilitate might just make things worse in the end.