Wait now! His father was a drunk and used to abuse him as a child. He was bullied in school and the kids made fun of him. He had lots of run-ins with the law and got hooked on drugs. You see, it’s all our fault that he is this way. So, how can we punish someone that has already gone through all of this? (I just made all this up, I’m playing like I’m a Liberal tonight)
His father was a drunk and used to abuse him as a child...(I just made all of this up...)Looking at your hypothetical scenario, which actually occurs in thousands of homes, how does the average person know the effects of an extremely bad environment on a growing child?
I, for one, can't even relate to that kind of upbringing.
In many criminal cases I've read of, my belief has been that abusive parents who messed up their child should be imprisoned along with him/her. They are equally culpable.