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16-year-old Scott Sappington Jr. was only dropping his younger siblings off at Grandma’s when he left his car running and was car jacked. During the car jacking he was shot in the head and he died. This young man was a good student, a member of the debate team and a member of the forensic team. Should the killer get the death sentence, life in prison or something less?
IMG: Sxc.hu
The shocking news, the killer was only a 13-year-old, Keaire Brown. Now I ask you, should this 13 year old be tried for murder? I know many feel that as a child no one should ever try them as adults but she did commit an adult crime and actually took someone’s life. Some believe that she was only a child when this occured and she should be released when she turns 18 or even 22. Others believe if she goes to juvenile hall and stays until 18-22 she can then be rehabilitated and released on society. This fears some because will she and will it be safe to have her back in the public.
Her grandmother told Kansas City Star:
“Brown had a difficult childhood and other problems, she said, but consequences are consequences.”
Keep in mind Scott would’ve been graduating this year, he had his entire life ahead of him. He does not get a second chance. Should she be tried as an adult? What are your thoughts? Currently she is being charged with felony murder and aggravated robbery.
The Supreme Court on Monday announced that it will decide whether sentencing juveniles to spend the rest of their lives in prison without hope of ever being released can be considered a cruel and unusual punishment.
Do you think they will decide for or against trying juveniles of adults and what do you think they’d do with this case?
lololololololololol he died
You are just a ignorant asshole go killyourself
lolololololol your the asshole making fun of charlie sheen.
you know what you can just go eat dirt and die.. oh and is the kid 12 feet tall?
no douchebag, he has 12 feet, just like a giraffe
oh that must be a muuuuu tation
I do believe that she should be tried as an adult. It appears that even her family feels that she should be charged as an adult. Though my husband tells me that I am rather hard, but most kids that commit violent crimes and are turned loose on society at 18 just to harm another life. Why should we give them a second chance?
I don’t believe that a 13-year-old child is mentally able to grasp the gravity of what she did when she shot that boy. It is a horrible, horrible crime and in commiting it, she has brought an end to two futures – hers as well as his.
I do not believe in the death penalty. I do not believe that she should be tried as an adult. I do not know the legalities of the matter, I just know how I feel, my opinion.
This is very difficult question, and there are no easy answers. We all want to believe that a child can be rehabilitated. Some can, but certainly not all.
In a great number of cases, the issue is one of jurisdiction — the juvenile court or the state court (called different things in different states). Each has control over sentencing within their domain, but not over the other’s domain.
What this means is that the juvenile court has limits on how long they can sentence a child. This can often result in very short, and seemingly insufficient sentencing.
The state court will sentence to prison with an adult population. Most people are not in favor of sending a 13 year old in with adult multiple offenders (although some type of accommodation is made for the child until they reach a particular age).
At one time keeping the two jurisdictions separate was easy — age was the determining factor. In state court, an adult with a very low IQ was still tried there, and the mitigating factor (perhaps of mentally being child aged) was taken into account as part of the charging and sentencing. Now, with more and more children having the maturity of adults, we find that it doesn’t work the other way because sentencing ends with the ending of juvenile status (aged defined).
Jurisdiction is the foundation of the legal system, and we can’t just throw it out. But I believe the answer lies somewhere in that concept.