When it is just the kid.

[strredwolf]

There's a CNN article about how teens are killing homeless people, and how the attacks are on the rise.  But I'm not going to link to it just yet.

You're probably thinking now "Oh, the parents didn't raise them right or punish them or whatnot."  But in one case, you're wrong.  This case, they did everything possible, including following a counselors advice, and the kid didn't get the clue.

CNN didn't report it.  Instead, it's in an open letter by a fan of Penny Arcade.  I'm linking to it first.  It's also on Slashdot, so you may have problems getting in.  It's worth it, though... because sometimes a kid is just a cold-hearted lying ****bag that won't listen to anyone.

This kid's got 15 years behind bars, convicted as an adult.  Where apparently he belongs.

It makes me wish we had TPK active furs like my Dr. Mikail Markov.  The kid needs his mind blown from the inside.  I hope 15 years will do it.

Comments

[griffinwolf.livejournal.com]

Well, even if you do a mind-wipe, unless you rearrange the sinapses, things would probably happen the same way.

I was discussing this with one of my Roommates, who, despite being well behaved, has a touch of the adventurous inside him. But he also has this sort of amoral attitude. Scruples and Morals, although he understands what's "right and wrong", he still has a very objective view, a sort of block or (more accurately) lack thereof.

He's since reformed since he understands that his actions DO have consequences (which he is totally and fully aware of), and has incredible foresite of those consequences.

But it is quite conseivable that many people have this lack of moral restraint on their actions. It's not that they comprehend, it's just that each action and consequence don't have any causality between the two, as if they're two different instances.

Whether the personality forms around that, or that forms around the personality is a good question. Would be interesting to do some medical tests on someone like that, see how their brain operates compared to other people. I'll have to bring this up with my roommate, since he's pretty interested in this sorta cerbral thinking himself. (that's another thing that sets him apart from this case, he's inherantly curious).

[bobskunk.livejournal.com]

There are a disturbing number of kids turning out like this, though maybe not to such a high degree as this worthless piece. I'm surprised and shocked to see the letter sent to PA, but I knew from the beginning the kid would be similar to that; nobody blames video games unless they're trying to play a victim and knowingly deflect the blame from their deliberate action.

I worked at a house where a kid was similar to this, he was younger than me and we went to the same school. He stole and broke pieces from his parents' machine, which I had to fix, and sort of frankensteined his own computer (doing stupid things like swapping an eMachines case for an HP case, breaking his parent's LCD monitor because it 'looked cool').. One night he was told not to see his mental patient girlfriend. Immediately started cursing, threatening, 'YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME, GET OFF I'LL KILL YOU'. Then he does the logical thing and goes outside and smashes their car all over with bricks, then a few of the windows in the house when they lock him outside.

Not surprisingly, he was back home within 5 days, and he's further justified that he can do whatever he wants. His parents are great people but they've been saddled with adopting a monster that normal parenting won't do anything for.

[dashutri.livejournal.com]

It's sad, but not suprising. There are people that pop up over time, that use any excuse they can to run amok, and do things this horrendous.
Scapegoatism [if that's even a word], has always been prevalent in our society, especially when it comes to the ills that often happen.

As to what should be done to these boys... Just for the joy they took in doing this calls for a degree of pain most would believe torture.
I'm just not sure what else to say at the moment, that won't seem rote or cliché.

[bibliophage.livejournal.com]

There's never an excuse to use torture on things like this. They're vermin, you treat them as vermin. Kill them quickly and cleanly, and make sure they can't do it again. Don't dwell on it, and certainly don't lower yourself to their level.