What possible good will society gain if we send a 12-year-old to prison? His act was despicable, to be sure, and he deserves justice. However, he's not even old enough for junior high, he's made no contribution to society.
Sending him to prison for life simply means you've ended it. I see no difference, in this case between "life without parole" and "death penalty" because you are essentially ending his life, and handing it over to the state.
This isn't to say I am pro-death penalty. My stance on that is conflicted. What I am trying to get at is that our prison system is not an effective means of teaching Americans that what they did was wrong, and what the correct behaviors are. Which would be better, to send a little boy to prison forever until he dies, or to send him to a facility where he can learn, get an education, perform countless hours of community service, and pay a debt to society deemed equal to the life he took during the armed robbery?
Can all people be rehabilitated and become productive members of society after committing a crime? Probably not. But a 12-year-old?
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Thursday, 20 August 2009
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