Boy, 12, charged in slaying, had tumultuous upbringing

The Florida Times-Union ^ | 6/4/11 | David Hunt

[NWFLConservative]

I have to agree. There is no stronger proponent of the death penalty than myself, but putting a child to death is barbaric, that’s what the subhuman muslims do. I am also not a proponent of placing a 12 year old child in prison for the rest of their lives.

I pray that at 12 this child can somehow be “fixed”. Whether it will ever happen is anyone’s guess. But it will mean getting him as far away from the environment in which he grew up as possible. And he finally needs some stern discipline in his life, as well as Christian morals and upbringing.

[Islander7]

"....at 12 this child can somehow be “fixed”....

Some children are born broken. There is no fix. His home environment is certainly suspect, but may not be the only source of his rage. I hope he can be salvaged too, but won't hold my breath.

[editor-surveyor]

What wuz the name of that river you were paddling down on your trip to Egypt?

[Soothesayer9]

Well that didnt actually work out for Judas Iscariot.

[pnh102]

Executing children is not, I repeat not, a plank in any conservative platform.

First, someone who is cognizant enough to go ahead and kill anyone should not be prosecuted as a minor. That murderer had enough sense to murder someone else. If said murderer was put to death, he'd know exactly why he was being executed. Under our current "justice" system this murderer will be out of the prison system with a clean record before he is 30 years old. That's plenty of time to commit more crimes and possibly murder more people. What is more humane?

Second, if the age of this murderer makes you squeamish about the death penalty, then life imprisonment with no parole ever would be the next best punishment.

[Melas]

Wow. All I can say is that I’m glad that you’re not in charge.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Where’s your proof? Talk is cheap.

[pnh102]

Wow. All I can say is that I’m glad that you’re not in charge.

Are you saying that life imprisonment for a 12 year old murderer is not something you can stomach?

[D-fendr]

Some children are born broken. There is no fix. His home environment is certainly suspect

I think environment here is very suspect. If he lived through a half-way normal life, I'd lean more toward nature than nurture. But in this case… it would be a miracle if a 12-year-old were not damaged greatly in some way. I don't think anyone knows at this point who or what the child truly is.

[Ditter]

Good grief what a tragic tale...... all the way around.

[newzjunkey]

I didn’t notice anything in various articles to support your claim the mother was an “anchor baby.”

[Melas]

Are you saying that life imprisonment for a 12 year old murderer is not something you can stomach?

Yes, unequivocally.

[pnh102]

Yes, unequivocally.

But how is the alternative more humane? Letting murderers roam free on the streets doesn't sound like it will end well for anyone involved.

If you want to provide education and some type of pastoral care for this murderer in prison, there is nothing wrong with that, but for the sake of the safety of everyone else, he should never see the outside of a prison in this life ever again.

[NWFLConservative]

That means the 5-foot-1-inch, 140-pound Kernan Middle School student is leaving a juvenile holding facility for the Duval County jail, although he'll be held with other juveniles there.

That's pretty porky for a 5'1 year old kid. Perhaps the public defender should pursue the Twinkie defense.

All kidding aside, this is a tragic circumstance from every angle. A little two year old child is dead and a 12 year old child is on trial for what could mean prison for a rather large chunk of his life. Several people on this forum would prefer to just write this child off as irreparably broken and throw this him away like yesterday's newspaper. From what I have read, and of course we are at the mercy of the journalist who wrote this story when it comes to the facts surrounding the case, this child has had a life which could drive any child to extremes. Does he need to do time in prison? Yes, unquestionably. Is he going to need a lot of deprogramming? Again, yes, unquestionably. Should he be imprisoned for the rest of his life? I don't believe so.

[editor-surveyor]

>> “Should he be imprisoned for the rest of his life?” <<

.
There is no way to answer that question given the info available to us.

[Melas]

I obviously hold more hope for the rehabilitation of children than you do. What more could possibly need to be said?

[freejohn]

Didn't work for this 12 year old either: Lionel Tate

[pnh102]

Didn't work for this 12 year old either: Lionel Tate

Exactly. Life without parole or a death sentence for the original murder conviction would have prevented this later crime.

[Lurker]

Executing children is not, I repeat not, a plank in any conservative platform.

That's too bad because it ought to be.

[Lurker]

I obviously hold more hope for the rehabilitation of children than you do. What more could possibly need to be said?

Just this. Hold out both your hands. Hope your right one fills up with Skittles. Crap in your left hand. Then tell me which hand filled up first.