Life without parole for children
 

YouTube Video

Fuck this country

Honestly what the fuck is going on in the world. What really angers me is when i show people things like this they just tell me racism doesn't exist anymore. It's just a few people around who wont let it go. How sheltered can you be to believe that.

21 to 1 you say? Well maybe if they dressed appropriately in court they wouldn't receive such harsh sentences.

Wow, punsihed mroe because the crime was well thought-out?

Society should reward minors for clear thinking and organised approaches.

C'mon, Dev. As much as the son of a bitch had it coming, you can't just kill someone.

You're either being a troll or an idiot.

Either way, leave.

Or, you know, kidding.

He could be kidding.

Okay, yeah. Her life was over before it began.

On the other hand think of her gravestone:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/222/4...ad99fdeec2.jpg

I'm comfortable taking posts at their face value without playing at long-term psychoanalysis, myself.

It's a long way of saying that anything that Styphon doesn't like is probably pretty good.

Not in this case.

This is not a principle from which cases may be exempted.

Of course not.

This is Gamingforce; You're either with us, or you're against us.

I don't see it that way. Frankly, someone who thought this crime out and then realised the moral problems with killing someone afterwards is far elss dangerous than a violent sociopath who simply lashes out at random.

I would also argue that this indicative of a larger problem in the US, that of over-using prison sentences in an effort to curb crime - one that has failed, but i s politically convienient.

Quote boxes don't work like that.

For a second I thought you were seriously arguing with yourself (still laughing). Next time just quote the post you're replying to.

Life is ironic above all else. Either it's sick, depressing or downright amusing. Probably some combination of the above.

It is good to see that Mr. Styphon is as vigilant as ever.

I don't have any issue with locking someone up for life without parole regardless of their age if the crime is bad enough. However, to punish someone with murder when it was clearly self defense is fucked up beyond description.

The title for this thead is entirely misleading and dramatic.

I'm not saying that the judge did right in this particular case, but if the circumstances were different, I definitely wouldn't say that a 16-year-old qualifies as a child. By that time, you're entirely aware of the consequences that come with committing heinous crimes.

Regarding the original post.., I believe if those points regarding her past were brought up in the case then she most likely wouldn't have received such a harsh punishment. I can't imagine any jury that would convict a minor of what, put in that light, seems like self-defense.

This leads me to believe that those facts were most likely fabricated by the defense (or some advocate group with their own political agenda) afterwards in what appears to be some attempt to bring light to that particular case and further some cause.

As for the statistics that people usually read about with Hispanics and African Americans usually receiving more (or harsher) convictions. Though prejudice/racism on the part of police officers and other legal officials may play a small role, I believe the numbers are more due to the fact that there are far more members of those ethnic groups living in poverty or lower-income situations, which usually equals higher crime rates.

I really doubt ethnicity/racism played any part in this case though, and presented with only these limited (seemingly biased) facts I can't really form an opinion on this particular case myself. Perhaps she did deserve the sentence she received or perhaps not. The fact that she was a minor at the time though means this court ruling could probably be appealed successfully for a reduced sentence.

This is completely false and backed up by decades of adolescent psychology. Adolescents do not have the brain development which renders them capable of higher moral reasoning, not that they do not have a concept of right or wrong but that they're not sufficiently prepared to appreciate the consequences of their actions. This scientific evidence was even cited by SCOTUS in their decision which struck down the Juvenile Death Penalty a few years ago.

SCOTUS is reviewing two cases from Florida regarding young men sentenced to JVLWOP for non-violent offenses. Initial questioning in court makes it look like it will be a 5-4 decision in January either in favor of or against human dignity.

Additional Spam:
Incompetence of advocacy is a common theme when it comes to kids sentenced to JVLWOP.

This Frontline from 2007 features at least two kids whose court-appointed attorneys demonstrated massive incompetence.

Additional Spam:
Those 21 to 1 odds are statistically significant indicators that race played a role in her sentencing, by the way.

I think he is confusing statistical comparison of the conviction rate per capita (As this type of comparison usually should have been) with the general likelihood that a individual may-be caught into that kind of situation.

It's amazing how shocked old cracker judges are when adolescents don't respect a court of law.