Teen Murderer Says Jail Is Too Hard, Appeals Sentence

You can basically boil all the arguments down to one simple phrase. It works, and there's very little in the way of a counter-argument that can effectively be made against it.

Prison isn't supposed to be nice.

It's called "a detterent". If you do that, you get this. As far as I can tell, it's working in this case. This young offender won't want to go back to prison, so he will have been deterred from re-offending.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Avalokiteshvara

I like how he'll be in prison during some pretty important years of his life. What kind of career opportunities are out there for a 37 year old who maybe got a GED in prison? Seems like it'd be best all around if he were to be quietly murdered sometime between now and release. It seems that we've basically already made the decision that the complete destruction of his life and future is just. Why not actually own up to it and not draw things out?

He showed no remorse about the complete destruction of another life and future. The fact that this life belonged to someone who is not traditionally valued by society shouldn't take away from that fact. It's every bit as bad as if he killed the hot blond career woman in her late thirties.

He's still breathing. His life has not been destroyed. It has merely been limited in scope. That means that compared to his victim, he got off lightly. I don't support the death penalty, but I entirely support the notion of actions which have consequences.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Bolide

I can't help but wonder if he is going to resort to some other form of criminal activity when he is released though. As I mentioned before, it almost seems like there is some form of psychosis going on with his lack of being able to acknowledge the severity of what he did wrong by displaying no remorse.

I'll acknowledge that in this particular case, but in the case of sane inmates, it should generally be assumed that the unpleasant nature of a custodial sentence would help to deter them from re-offending.

If someone really isn't capable of comprehending the difference between legal and illegal acts, or if they don't understand the societal definition of right and wrong, then it's also going to be hard to deter them from crime. I'd agree with you on that point, but it can still be assumed that he won't want to return to jail. The question of whether his mental faculties are acute enough to allow him to avoid jail is another matter entirely.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.