Child Detention

[Jonathan]

(May I suggest, before beginning this thread, that you watch the film "Boy A")

Something I'm interested in is child detention - when is it deserved, and when should it be used (if ever)? Is a child as young as 10 responsible for their own actions, and should they have their childhood taken away from them to suffer the consequences for something they did at an age where they arguably didn't know right or wrong properly?

You have to make your own decision, but the most famous example of this is the James Bulger case - a 2 year old toddler murdered by two 10 year old boys. Bulger was abducted, beaten and subsequently killed. He was found on a railway line. Obviously this is a horrific crime.

Jon Venables, this year (now 27,) was found guilty of viewing indecent images of children and has been sentenced two years imprisonment. He was, for the murder of Bulger, released from prison when he was 18. The other murderer has a new identity but you can read this article about him: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... peaks.html


The question is, what would you have done (if you had control over their punishments) in this situation?

 

[Callum93]

The question is, what would you have done (if you had control over their punishments) in this situation?

Kill him.

 

[Jonathan]

The question is, what would you have done (if you had control over their punishments) in this situation?

Kill him.

*virtual -rep* He's 10 years old.

 

[kasem]

I would imprison him for a while, I mean he's 10, but when I was 10 I think I knew right from wrong killing someone is something that 10 year olds normally won't do... That was just wrong what they did and I hate them for it even if they were 10 they can still differentiate right from wrong.

 

[Darthmaul]

I would imprison him for a while, I mean he's 10, but when I was 10 I think I knew right from wrong killing someone is something that 10 year olds normally won't do... That was just wrong what they did and I hate them for it even if they were 10 they can still differentiate right from wrong.

:yes: :yes: :yes:

 

[agentmanningctu]

I'd give him 20 years to think about it.

 

[kasem]

I would imprison him for a while, I mean he's 10, but when I was 10 I think I knew right from wrong killing someone is something that 10 year olds normally won't do... That was just wrong what they did and I hate them for it even if they were 10 they can still differentiate right from wrong.

:yes: :yes: :yes:

Glad to hear you agree with me. 🙂

 

[Jonathan]

I'd give him 20 years to think about it.

He'd more likely go insane in that time, completely unreasonable.

 

[agentmanningctu]

I'd give him 20 years to think about it.

He'd more likely go insane in that time, completely unreasonable.

1) Why? Not everyone in prison goes insane. There are plenty of programs in place that prevent that, most of which are mandatory.
2) Two ten year olds beating and killing a toddler? What makes you think they are mentally stable now?

 

[Jonathan]

I don't think when you're 10 years old you're capable of thinking things through logically and thoughtfully. Obviously if a normally raised 10 year old did this, there is something wrong up there - in which case we should try to help them rather than punish them for something like this.

 

[agentmanningctu]

I work with a lot of kids around that age. Believe me when I say they know how to think things through logically. They aren't stupid.

 

[Jonathan]

I'm not saying they're stupid. It's just you get a better sense for morality and an understanding of society with age, perhaps these children had difficulty picking that up. We shouldn't punish them for the way they are born, but rather help them to fix it and ensure it doesn't happen again.

 

[agentmanningctu]

Kids know what is right and what is wrong. For the most part, I see they have a better sense of morality as they don't tend to bend rules as often as adults.

 

[Jonathan]

Kids know what is right and what is wrong. For the most part, I see they have a better sense of morality as they don't tend to bend rules as often as adults.

I think you're speaking a bit blandly. Saying all kids know what's right and wrong is wrong. They don't. To know right and wrong, you have to be taught it. To learn it when you're taught it, you have to understand it.

 

[Callum93]

The question is, what would you have done (if you had control over their punishments) in this situation?

Kill him.

*virtual -rep* He's 10 years old.

Boo hoo, doesn't make what he did right.

 

[agentmanningctu]

You can't expect everyone to accept these morals. There will always be a small percentage of people who cannot learn these morals or refuse to abide by them. Preventing cases like these is impossible.

 

[Jonathan]

Yep - these cases are exactly what I'm talking about. The people who for some reason can't learn them and can't really get a grip on humanity and how the world works.

Should we help them, or lock them away?

 

[agentmanningctu]

We can't just throw our laws out the window. Sure, they need help. They will get it in prison. Mandatory evaluation and help programs for the duration of their sentence.

 

[Jonathan]

Surely laws are only there for people who understand what they did was wrong, and actually wanted to cause damage?

And surely prison is only there to stop people harming the public, when perhaps a mental institution would do a better job of helping them understand these things better, and try to teach them some morality. Obviously if they don't comprehend, they'll have to stay at the mental institution until they're safe.

 

[Cosmic]

Maybe putting these children behind bars for a couple months/years will teach them what's right and wrong. The reason why kids do things like this is because the radical left forces parents to not spank and punish their children. They need to be taught, whether it's the "easy" way or not. If they don't know what's right and wrong, we should hammer it into them.