Should 10 & 11 year olds be charged?
 

So in another string of kids attacking other kids on April 3rd a 10 year old and an 11 year old girl attacked another 10 year old girl on the playground.



So my question to you all is, should these two girls be charged? I was watching Headline News and one attorney said no, that the two girls should get detention where they have to write "I will not do this ever again" at least 100 times. Why? Because juvenile detention would be to traumatic for them.

I think they need to be in juvenile detention or something very similar. I could care less if they are 10 & 11, they knew what they were doing.


This is the most recent article on it:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080410/...RF7Glvgf1G2ocA

They should do time in juvie, I agree. Perhaps make it so that on the off chance they become worthwhile members of society this incident doesn't completely hamper their ability to succeed.

However, they first need to have their asses kicked by members of their own families before letting the state have their shot. My sister is a mental health professional and constantly sees young people like this, usually with mothers who are asking "I don't know what else to do." Well, the answer is easy. If your daughter threatens to kill you and breaks stuff all over your house, find out what the law will allow and max it out.

This is why I agree with spankings. When I was a 6th grader, I got in a fight w/ another girl and got suspended. My mom definitely taught me a lesson about fighting when I got home!

What gets me is the one of the girls mom claimed she was an "A, B" student. So?

I guess I am the only one who does not feel like putting these kids into an institution. If they were older, perhaps. But any child under the age of 12 who physically assaults other children--outside of the "meet me at 3 o'clock behind the tether balls"... Juvie, is not going to help with recidivism, in my opinion.

An ass whoopin' by a parent will... If the intent was to steal money or beat the crap out of little Joey, because he's weak, and little Joey, stood up for himself, and kicked other dude's butt, then good for him. But, it still will be punitive damages at home.

I hate physically fighting. It does nothing for you and there will always be bullies. That is how people are in this world.

But having a penal system mentality will not stop certain negative behaviors.

Now if there were guns or knives involved, yeah, someone needs to beat their natural behinds within an inch of their lives.

Yeah I think it depends on the kid. If it were me, a pretty good kid mixed up in the wrong crowd who did something incredibly stupid, then time in a detention center probably would have scared me and been helpful. However, if these are kids prone to such behavior who are from detached or downright terrible parents, it may just reinforce that they're going to live a life like this.

Kids who do things that are so depraved have to know punishment, but if they're from a place where this is part of growing up, it won't help.

What a bunch of little animals!

I don't know how I feel about juvie, either. If they're there for any considerable period of time, they could come out being WORSE, since they're around a bunch of other bad-ass little kids who know the system in and out, and could teach them all sorts of crazy things.

How can you reform a kid like that, anyway?

I wonder this too, but I hope that they can be. Sometime though I think that some kids are just pretty much wired wrong from the get-go. A lot of creepy serial killer types showed abusing behavior when they were really young.

And I think those who are suggesting that parental punishment is the answer may be a little optimistic about what the parental authorities are like in cases where the kids are this out of control this early.

Do you suppose that you go from peaceful well-adjusted kid to stomping kids to the point of hospitalization overnight? If effective parental response was coming, I think they would have already gotten it.

See this is why I said they should go to juvie (or something similar). I think if they charge the girls as delinquents, i think the consequence is harsh (keeping them in juvie til they are 21), but give them a week, a month in juvie and I think it will straighten these girls out.

Even if these girls hadn't been in trouble (like this) before, doesn't mean they couldn't have been terrorizing other kids. That age is VERY prone to bullying.

But its the parents responses that get me---its like their child is some angel that can do no wrong. There has to be some consequence. If you leave it up to the parents or the school, then nothing will be done.

I really believe that if it took pretty much nothing for these girls to attack, then they could easily attack again!

Firstly, I don't think any kid doing such things as these have never been well-adjusted or have never known peace. And it is a wide fluctuation of bipolar psychosis for adjustment to lunacy--in my opinion.

A 10 year old do not have discernment yet. Discernment happens with a combination of age, biology (genetics), education and life-experience. Obviously, a 10 year old does not have the life-experience, education or age to really know the consequences of his or her actions.

Is there a cutoff point? Probably not until 18-20 years old. I don't know? However, it is still formative years for until ~25-28 years old. That is why it is tough when we have kids having babies at 10/11 years old or kids committing crimes with lethal weapons. How do we as a society monitor that?


Formal penal institutions are not stopping our crimes. And it sounds like the military does not want these kind of people either.

The issue is economic in nature. There is more upfront costs to solve this issue civilly, than to do the quick fix in throwing in a penal code institution. The penal code institution costs more in the long run and does not solve your problem that the civil action upfront costs and longterm avenue.

Longterm means going to group everyday of the week except Sunday, having check in with a licensed mental health worker and probation officers, etc. Nutritionists, physical evaluations with MRI for brain deformities and possible psychotropic drug treatments.

I do think there is possibly a loss in B-complex vitamins during pregnancy and post-natal care. I could be wrong.

I'm sorry, i think this complete crap. I got suspended in 6th grade for fighting--I was 11. I knew that there was consequences for my actions, to say that a 10/11 year old wouldn't understand is either underestimating a child, or bad parenting. Sure a 10 year old who hasn't ever been punished in their life wouldn't know the difference between right and wrong. But i've asked my 12 & 13 year old cousins about this, and their response---"put them in jail!"

But when something this wrong happens, i'm sorry, there should be consequences whether the child understands or not.

And I think if the parents don't do anything, something should be done for that as well.

In this thread and others I've seen people make the claim about how crimes can be prevented with more upfront costs. What is it that you think can be offered socially?

I think the problems come from a breakdown in the family and in a shared sense of community. I don't think either can be promoted with increased spending.

What do you have in mind?

When I say discernment, what would be the difference from the stopping, turning and walking away vs. committing acts of violence?

These kids think it is okay to do it and ask forgiveness later... The problem is when it is vicious and lethal, there is no forgiveness involved in that.

Apparently, either these kids NEVER knew the difference between right and wrong or they just don't give a damn. Probably both... Which means in America, we are in dire straits.

I am sorry, I do not want to believe that no matter how true. Call me delusional or looking through rose colored glasses, but has humanity gotten that bad in morals and ethics?

@Bolded: We all know what happens when we do nothing or make it worse that tackle the problem head on--we are a witness to it now... We do nothing or make it worse (i.e. violating the US Constitution) we will have G-E-N-E-R-A-T-I-O-N-S of clean up all because of anger, ignorance, and stereotype. Where does that get us? Have we truly solve ALL human problems?

It is about VIGILANCE--we must remain vigilant to end this kind of problem. And the thing is, it is not a one size fits all mentality--it is a individualistic, game-time, real-time, IM, live-chat (other 21st century euphemisms) that will solve these problems... Guess what, YOU ALL--Your generation will solve it. Mine is too old now. I'm not going to go out there and get beat down by dogs. Been there, done that. So, guess what, you all got recruited...

So, now that you find yourselves in this midst of this humanity--In medius res--might I suggest that you all use your intellect, your rationalism, your sense of democracy, federalism, pluralism, civility, deism, (all the isms) and upgrade it to be Podcasted, throughout your blogs... ;)

Can you all reach back and make that change? I don't know? But for some reason, I have more faith in your generation--maybe just for today--possibly because the Sun is shining in my area. And to me, IMO that's good enough.

AKA Monet, I am tempted to go with you on this- but let me please pose a question first.

Do you think these two kids really understood that they were inflicting serious medical damage to the victim?

That is where I have a hangup with this. I remember the odd grade school fight, and I really don't think we had any concept that we could really hurt somebody so badly.

Shove a kid on the ground, and he gets sand in his hair. Shove a kid while you are on the jungle gym and he falls and breaks an arm (the latter did happen at my school once and noone was arrested or charged with a crime. We were in 2nd grade as I recall.)

Can a 10 year really understand yet how sheer fate and a complex set of variables could make a beating turn out to be no big deal or a medical nightmare?

I suspect the answer is no, which is why I do not like the idea of juvenile hall (along with what 2 others have pointed out about how that is not a good place for any kid to spend time since it is just a training ground for far worse.)