10 year old child in prison?

Combwork · #1 03-06-2010, 05:24 AM

I don't know if this was reported much outside the U.K. but some years ago two 10 year old boys spent two hours torturing a 2 year old toddler to death then threw his body onto a railway line where a train cut it in half. Nobody is 100% sure if the child was still alive when this happened; the authorities have never fully revealed what was done during those two hours. The killers got life imprisonment but were released after 7 years on parole and given new identities.

The killing wasn't spur of the moment; during the trial it was revealed that they had made at least one practice run to work out the route they would take then tried to kidnap a different child but were interrupted.

Now one of them is back in prison for what the authorities say was a "serious breach of his parole terms" but so far have not said what this breach was.

Can a 10 year old be fully aware of what they do; fully aware of right and wrong? If so, should they go to prison (in their case a secure institution, not a general prison) and for how long?

Most unusually in Britain, the killers were named in open Court; Jon Venables and Robert Thomoson; apparently Venables was the dominant one. Both have since been given new identities and housing at estimated costs of £250,000 each and it's likely Venables will be given another new identity on his release from prison. Their victim was named as James Bulger.

I'm just curious. How would this have been handled in the USA?

Charles · #2 03-06-2010, 05:41 AM

Probably be confined to a mental institution over here. I don't know what can be done with a child like that. Or an adult, for that matter.

I wouldn't want one living next door to me.

Chas

noonereal · #3 03-06-2010, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles

Probably be confined to a mental institution over here. I don't know what can be done with a child like that. Or an adult, for that matter.

I wouldn't want one living next door to me.

Chas

Sadly there is nothing that can be done with them except to keep them away from society. A sociopath is a sociopath, they will never empathize with there victims and you will never know when they have an urge to take what is your, including your life.

merrylander · #4 03-06-2010, 08:36 AM

I remember that case and would have thought they were confined to a mental institution.

Sandy G · #5 03-06-2010, 08:59 AM

"They didn't comprehend what they were doing..." Bullshit. I knew damn good 'n' well the basic differences between right & wrong by the time I entered 1st grade..I'll wager all y'all did, too. Keep 'em locked up til they're adults,MAYBE cut 'em loose then, but if they so much as drop a Kleenex on the ground, back in the can they go.

Boreas · #6 03-06-2010, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by merrylander

I remember that case and would have thought they were confined to a mental institution.

I remember it too and am also surprised they were simply tossed into prison. Can't figure that one out.

John

BlueStreak · #7 03-06-2010, 10:16 AM

"Damian.........Damian is the anti-Christ!"

Seriously, I would have thought a mental institution would have been much more appropriate. Kids can sometimes do cruel things because they don't know any better. But something like this goes way, way beyond the pale of normal childhood shenanigans.
Obvious evidence of psychosis here.

Regards,
Dave

Grumpy · #8 03-06-2010, 11:17 AM

Lock em away forever.

Boreas · #9 03-06-2010, 11:32 AM

A similar case from America. The kids were quite a bit older though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold-Loeb

John

merrylander · #10 03-06-2010, 12:36 PM

Now you are really going back in time.