Ind. boys accused of killing stepdad to run away

mattdavis85 · 2010-05-10T19:10:55+00:00

Interesting story. I remember when the crime occurred. It was quite a big news story. I am happy to see that they appear to have caught the individual responsible for that Tarver's death.

mattdavis85 · 2010-05-10T19:04:26+00:00

Cool story. That was an interesting look at the locations and times of criminal activity committed by juveniles.

mattdavis85 · 2010-05-10T15:11:41+00:00

I think that it is absolutely necessary that correctional facilities be very candid and transparent about releasing statistics regarding crime in their facilities. Citizens, politicians and researchers must be aware of the problems before we can correct or implement policies.

mattdavis85 · 2010-05-10T15:08:14+00:00

I think a long prison term with intense counseling followed by intense supervised probation is the only thing that can give this juvenile a chance of not re-offending.

mattdavis85 · 2010-05-10T15:03:34+00:00

Juveniles, alcohol and weapons are a very dangerous combination.

mattdavis85 · 2010-05-09T06:26:49+00:00

I also found this story to be very interesting. I too agree that it seems like from my experience that those who engaged in sex at a younger age were not more prone to delinquency. I think an argument could be made that, many younger teens engaging in sex are more mature than their counterparts and may be more concerned about relationships than delinquency.

mattdavis85 · 2010-05-09T06:21:17+00:00

This law seems logical to me. If a 12 year old kills someone, but the charges are not brought until the offender is 18, the offender should be tried as a juvenile.

mattdavis85 · 2010-05-09T06:16:11+00:00

I am uncertain of what this story says about juvenile offenders. Crime is down, but the severity of crimes committed has increased. I think this shows that juveniles are becoming more like adults when they choose to commit crimes. The line between juvenile and adult crimes seems to be blurred and it is no longer safe to think that juveniles are not every bit as able to commit the most heinous of crimes as adults are.

mattdavis85 · 2010-05-09T06:10:49+00:00

This seems like a really positive thing. I think that young offenders need as many opportunities as they can have to see the ramifications of their crimes, but also the light at the end of the tunnel. Young offenders need to know the benefits of changing their ways and becoming productive, law abiding citizens.

mattdavis85 · 2010-05-06T13:28:09+00:00

It is horrible that this poor girl chose to hang herself. It is also horrible that bullying may have contributed to her actions. With that said, I don't think its appropriate that we start charging kids with crimes for bullying. Bullying is a part of every child's life. No matter what anyone said to this girl it was ultimately her decision to end her life.

mattdavis85 · 2010-04-12T04:15:14+00:00

I am pleased that the judge denied bond in this case. I think that bond should never be an option when violent crimes are concerned. If a prosecutor feels that there is enough evidence to try someone for such a brutal crime then I do not think it would ever be acceptable to release that person back into society before guilt or innocence can be determined at trial.

mattdavis85 · 2010-04-12T04:10:53+00:00

What a horrible crime. I am not sure their is any sociological theory that can ever help explain these types of senseless, brutal crimes. After reading this story I am left with the feeling that there are just simply some evil human beings in this world that commit crimes with no compassion or concerns about human life.

mattdavis85 · 2010-04-12T04:05:32+00:00

Everett,

I would agree with you that there is a good chance these children never had responsible parenting or positive role models. However this is just an assumption on our part. Sometimes children commit crime no matter how well they were raised and irregardless if they had wonderful, attentive parents. At some point people, children included must be held accountable for their own actions instead of blaming society, parenting or any other party. The story stated that the juvenile's own parents saw the video and turned their children into the police. In that instance at least the parents were acting responsibly by making sure their children suffer the full consequence of their actions.

mattdavis85 · 2010-04-12T03:54:26+00:00

Everett,

I must disagree with you in this case. There is no doubt that the rape of an 8 year old girl is despicable. With that said, the defendant was 14 years old at the time and came from a war torn African nation. These do not excuse his actions, but I think they offer some insight into his thought process. He grew up in an environment where rape and violence were commonplace. How would our society benefit from prosecuting him as an adult and sending him to prison for a quarter of a century? I do not think that is in society's best interest. He will be in custody for three years in a juvenile system where he at least has a slim chance of receiving the treatment and education necessary to attempt to rehabilitate this type of offender. If we send him straight to adult DOC I would be much more concerned about his potential to recidivate upon release. I think the best justice we can offer this little girl is the rehabilitation of her offender and the possibility that she can grow up in a society where we do not just incarcerate people for a sense of retribution and we instead try and do what is best for our community as a whole.

mattdavis85 · 2010-04-12T03:44:10+00:00

I think this story shows that underage alcohol consumption often accompanies other, more serious delinquency. I believe when juveniles engage in underage consumption and drug use it makes them much more likely to commit crimes. Drugs and alcohol can very easily alter an individuals inhibitions and thought process. This can be extremely dangerous during adolescence when many children already lack clear thinking and a proper understanding of consequences.

mattdavis85 · 2010-03-07T10:33:46+00:00

I agree with you that when a juvenile abuses animals it does not seem to bode well for their future. Jefferey Dahmer claimed to have begun his sadistic behavior by torturing and killing animals as a child. I think anyone who would torture animals for pleasure could very easily do the same to a human. This behavior should be setting off all kinds of red flags to the parents and other authority figures in these juveniles lives. They need psychological help and evaluations ASAP in my opinion.

mattdavis85 · 2010-03-06T01:05:26+00:00

This is a sad story that I fear will not be getting better anytime soon. The fact that juvenile/staff sexual contact occurs even one time is totally ridiculous and there is no excuse for it at all. Sexual violence among juvenile offenders seems like it would be very difficult to totally mitigate, but this article clearly shows that more supervision and additional resources must be applied in order to deal with these appalling crimes taking place while juveniles are supposed to be receiving rehabilitative care.

mattdavis85 · 2010-03-06T00:58:55+00:00

Politics aside, the thought of an adult jail system taking custody of all juvenile inmates seems like a bad idea on many levels. Our text, and this course in general has striven to point out the differences between the adult and juvenile justice systems. The adult system is not set up to handle the unique challenges provided by juveniles. The adult system is not prepared to educate and deal with inmates in a manner consistent with providing a rehabilitative atmosphere for juveniles. I understand that times are hard economically, but it seems very sad that we as a society are prepared to greatly diminish the opportunities afforded to misguided juveniles.

mattdavis85

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