• jeffw@lemmy.worldM
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    8 months ago

    The child asked for help and was neglected. Had he not committed a crime, wouldn’t we be calling him a victim?

      • jeffw@lemmy.worldM
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        8 months ago

        Sure, but then we’re talking about him as a victim still. So why is he spending his entire life in prison? Some are cheering the Gypsy Rose Blanchard release, but saying this kid is a murderer who deserves to live behind bars

        • He is spending his entire life in prison because the US justice system is based around deterrence and retaliation, not prevention and rehabilitation.

          In most civilised countries it is impossible for underage offenders to get life. Forinstance in Germany the maximum prison sentence for a minor is ten years. Also youth prisons are focused much more on rehabilitation, social work and education, so the children have a chance at life after their sentence.

          • jeffw@lemmy.worldM
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            8 months ago

            Right. Maybe I’m just conditioned by a decade on Reddit to be Socratic and not say things bluntly lol

    • Zirconium@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Especially since he was 15 at the time of shooting and was literally incapable of getting mental health treatment (if your parents dgaf it’s basically impossible)

      • PineRune@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I wasn’t trying to say he’s not guilty in my original comment, but rather, if our country as a whole viewed crime and punishment differently, this kind of situation could be avoided altogether. Hypothetical, I know, but conditioning people to help those in need, in turn, reduces the rate at which people treat others poorly. If this kid was treated better in the first place, it could be said he would have never committed this crime, but now he has, and there’s no coming back from that. With his punishment, he will be facing a life of psychological tortue, which won’t make anything better.