I dunno, as a victim of grand theft from my home (it took me a long time to recover from that one), I have no sympathy for punk kids who break in and steal things they did not work for or earn in any way. This modern idea of being sorry for the perpetrator of crime makes me sick. However, as a person who has friends in prison myself, I do believe that the mandatory sentencing guidelines are draconian and need to be updated, though it isn't going to happen as long as there are such things as for-profit prisons and arrest quotas.
The system is certainly skewed, but still, fuck this kid for being a thief. That is all.
While I agree with you that punishment is necessary for such an action, I think that the controversy is about him being charged with murder when, as far as I know, nobody should have been charged for this. Every teenager make mistakes at some point. He was a dumbass to think that this would be a good idea, but charging him for a crime (my opinion) he did not commit is not fair. He did not want anyone to die, and everyone involved was conscious of the risks and were willing to go, they just needed money and even tried to make sure that the man was not home (they were not smart about that either). I don't excuse them at all. An incredibly stupid idea, but a wrong judgement I think.
I dunno, as a victim of grand theft from my home (it took me a long time to recover from that one), I have no sympathy for punk kids who break in and steal things they did not work for or earn in any way. This modern idea of being sorry for the perpetrator of crime makes me sick. However, as a person who has friends in prison myself, I do believe that the mandatory sentencing guidelines are draconian and need to be updated, though it isn't going to happen as long as there are such things as for-profit prisons and arrest quotas.
The system is certainly skewed, but still, fuck this kid for being a thief. That is all.
While I agree with you that punishment is necessary for such an action, I think that the controversy is about him being charged with murder when, as far as I know, nobody should have been charged for this. Every teenager make mistakes at some point. He was a dumbass to think that this would be a good idea, but charging him for a crime (my opinion) he did not commit is not fair. He did not want anyone to die, and everyone involved was conscious of the risks and were willing to go, they just needed money and even tried to make sure that the man was not home (they were not smart about that either). I don't excuse them at all. An incredibly stupid idea, but a wrong judgement I think.