The case study is on a six year old boy that brought a gun to school and shot another classmate. The two children had a scuffle the day before the incident happened. After the six year old boy shot his classmate he threw the gun down and took off running out of the room to hide. He did not act like he did anything wrong after the incident took place he was calm and drawing pictures. The boy had a history of violence in his family, with his father and grandfather currently in prison for gun related charges. He also lived in a violent environment. The legal system does not hold the six year old boy accountable for this crime. After looking at…
Due to the fact that children of this age tend to be very self-centered and have the ability to focus on one idea (regardless of perception), a child with anger issues will see their problem is the whole world and that that one focal point is to stop the angry feeling (Berger, 2008). While to an adult this is irrational thought since the consequences are not planned for, to a child this creates harmony in their world of “me.” Social learning at this age is a huge influence on how they react to their environment. In the case provided, the child is reacting the only way he knows how. Since both his father and grandfather are in the corrections system for gun related charges, it is likely that the child is only modeling the behavior he feels is set forth by those before him (Berger, 2008). While the child does not realize what he is doing at the time, he is an apprentice in thinking in the same way the other male figures have acted in his life. Even though the child has a male influence in his life (his uncle), it does not seem to be constructive as the uncle is likely the one who left the gun out irresponsibly. To uphold the current law, it should also be taken into consideration that a child at this age is merely attempting to make the difference between belief and reality. What a child sees on television and plays in video games can also…
C. (2004). Serial murder by children and adolescents. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 22, 357-374. doi:10.1002/bsl.590…
It’s never easy to accept the fact that a child can commit a serious crime. The reality is, it happens all over America and it has to be stopped before it starts to spread. The article, “On Punishment and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins is a more personal stance on the minority side of the situation, but it is the truth. Jenkins argues that The Supreme Court allows the underdeveloped brain theory apply to a situation like murder. This is the argument in Jensen’s case. In the article Jensen states “If brain development were the reason, then teens would kill…
Juvenile’s should be convicted as adults for violent crimes because teens are at the age of knowing right from wrong. In the article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” Jennifer’s sister was shot, while begging for the life of her unborn baby. The teen had a friend who testified at his trial about his friends “Thrill Kill” the teen just wanted to “See what it would feel like to shoot someone”. The young teen knew what he was doing but still went through it knowing the consequences.…
Murder is mostly seen as an act of complete disregard of human life, but that is not always the case. Minors facing a gun or a deadly person might be forced to the point of killing someone. It should be avoided at all times, but it can be the last remaining option, when this is the case the judge and jurors should investigate before making a conviction. There has been times where a minor is convicted guilty and later found they had no other option or it was self-defense. Everyone makes mistakes, but when it comes to determining how someone else will live their life, there should be no…
That's what the problem is making it seem like every kid is innocent and had a reason for their actions. When I look at it in my eyes a crime is a crime you make your own choices anger should never be that built up. Even if it is you shouldn't kill not one person. Let's just be honest some people even do time for their child actions. From personal experience, I think that the evidence in many cases isn't good enough to argue who did it and why. Furthermore to explain a boy had a gun and his father took the fall for it. Which that child knew exactly what had done and the actions he had committed and not once still to this day the police haven't found…
On September 28, a 14-year-old boy murdered his father. He also injured a 6-year-old little boy in a shooting at an elementary school. Prosecutors have taken action to have the case moved to the Court of General Sessions where the 14-year- old can be tried as an adult. His charges include murder and others. The teenage boy murdered his father while he was watching television within their home. The teenager then took the car and went to the elementary school. He was carrying a handgun at the time and began shooting, ultimately wounding two boys and a teacher. One of the boys died due to the fatal wounds he sustained. One of the bullets hit an artery and caused him to suffer a significant loss in blood which led to cardiac arrest.…
However, there is also the view that many individuals feel that Children should not be tried as adults. They should be nurtured and protected rather than completely responsible and punished for their crime. Children/juveniles it said that they do not possess the emotional maturity to control their impulse, or to fully understand the consequences to their actions. Therefore stating that their brains are not to be developed and can in neither way nor fashion adds up to an adults, making an exception. The truth of the matter is who is right and who is wrong? Both have valid points as to why not have the child tried and why not just seek other means besides having a child tried. This is a debate that will continue with time.…
Young kids don’t have the understanding that a gun can potentially kill or seriously injure someone. A great amount of kids involved in tragic accidents are too young. Most parents think they’re old enough to keep a gun around the house and believe they’re responsible enough to be given one, but they’re not. According to the Journal Gazette newspaper, the younger, the more curious a child is about guns. So, the more time and effort it will take to bring him or her to the point of understanding why it is so important not to handle guns without adult guidance. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nearly 800 children under 14 years old were killed in gun accidents from 1999 to…
There have been numerous occasions on the news when a young child /teenager has been killed by a gun in his/her own house. This scene is very sad. People today aren’t even safe in their homes anymore. This situation, though it has happened many times, can be prevented. If certain people didn’t have the right to own handguns things of this sort wouldn’t happen. It’s like a child with a piece of candy. If the child doesn’t see the candy, he won’t want it, but the moment he lays his eyes on it, it has to be his. Don’t give young people the chance to own a handgun and they won’t see the need to have one.…
Do serial killers have the same motive for killing? In “What Makes a Serial Killer” by La Donna Beaty, she composes an informative argument providing characteristics of a serial killer. She bases her argument on what makes a serial killer according to information gathered from eight different sources. According to the theories that she has provided, society, family atmosphere, mental illness, and excessive use of alcohol are the characteristics that make up a serial killer. Can these characteristics mask all serial killers? Beaty provides evidence that suggests what might make a serial killer, but, she doesn’t state what she thinks defines one, which makes this essay more of an essay to inform.…
Many families do not keep their guns in safe places that children couldn’t reach. For example, in South Carolina a 2-year-old shot his grandmother in the back while she was riding in the back seat of the car the child found the gun in the back of the front seat and shot his grandmother. Since children don’t know the concept of killing and harming people they have injured and killed many people, even children have killed their own parents and siblings. For example, a child shot his father in an event where many people were present. These kinds of incidents have happened many times because the parents didn't pay attention to the consequences of keeping guns. Not keeping guns in a safe place where children can't reach can result in familie’s own…
Children not having the capacity to understand the devastation that comes with a high power weapon. In Reich, Culross, and Behrman’s article, they focus on the youth and gun violence. The evidence shows that legislators do not focus on the devastation by homicides and accidents by youths. Arguing that the access of guns ensures that youths unsupervised will have access to these guns and accidents are bound to happen. With guns being so accessible accidents are bound to happen, if the child can not process and does not have the brain capacity to understand then there is bound to be injuries or accidental homicides. Stating, “an estimated 58% of firearm deaths among children and youth under age 20 in 1998 were homicides” (Reich, Culross, Behrman, 2002). Giving evidence of an issue that has not had effective legislation to curve the problem due to peoples’ inability to give up firearms. Furthermore, the necessity of education through parents is vital to curve shootings of youths in the United States of America. The author states, “low safe storage in gun-owning households with children highlight the need for greater parent education and awareness about the risks that guns pose to children and youth” (Reich, Culross, Behrman, 2002). Firearms in the presence of children that can be used on accident for horrific acts are one of the major issues these authors bring up in the literature. The involvement of the community would lessen…
Wintermute, G. J., Teret S. P., Kraus J. F., Wright M. A., and Bradfield, G. (1987). "When Children Shoot Children." Journal of American Medical Association 257.22 (1987): 208-209. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1025799/. 7th April, 2013.…