10-year-old boy beats 90-year-old woman to death in bed

a reply to: Helious

At what point does mental illness remove the necessity of personal responsibility? Where does that line blur?

So much stuff today is blamed on a mental illness just to get time reduced or a lessor sentence. Like someone else said, if the kid calculated that he could over power a 90 year old women, but not a 20-40 year old women, that's not a mental illness. That's a flat out murderer.

Call me overly critical or insensitive, but I doubt that boy suffers from a mental illness. It's more like he suffered from a lack of a belt across the rear.

a reply to: lost in space

Yeah lock him up forever. This is America goddurnit. The only answer to violence is an even greater helping of violence and torture. It's the American tradition.

The irony of the richest, "most free", most powerful nation on earth having the largest prison population is too hard to see I guess

a reply to: EternalSolace

Ugh its our culture. I see tons of great parents raising very normal kids ending up with spoiled brats. It's not that they didn't beat the crap out of them. The problem is that if your culture teachers you to care only about yourself and that no one else matters you are very likely to have poor morals.

My parents never beat me or my sisters and we're great people. They loved us and provided for us and never let the insidious nature of our culture take precedence. We were taught to be good people first and foremost. We weren't raised to be greedy and selfish. The problem is the majority of messages out there are saying, "only you matter, # the rest of em".

a reply to: tavi45

There is a difference between a beating and a spanking. I have great parents as well. I was held accountable for my actions and was disciplined or rewarded accordingly. Sometimes I lost privileges, sometimes I was made to work extra chores, sometimes I got it in the rear. All of which I am thankful for.

A friend of mine has two children in school. One afternoon they made the comment to him that he was too tough on his kids and needed to lighten up. A few months later the teacher sent a letter home with all the kids asking the parents to help with the disrespect shown toward the teachers. He called and asked if his kids were causing any of the problems. The reply was no. He asked the teacher why he should lighten up then if they're respectful.

You're right though, the "me me me" spoiled mentality is a real problem.

I never said to lock him up forever. I said the mental health care that violent children, teenagers, and adults get is minimal. Here take this pill. That does not seem to work. His parents methods does not seem to work at curbing his violent tendencies. Maybe being forced to pay for what he did will make him stop and reconsider before he does it again. To be absolutely honest I was told by various agencies and child caretaker agencies I was too lenient with my children and needed to use more tough love. Looking back I believe they were right. Children have no respect for adults they can manipulate. I see the mistakes I made, and believe me I used the local child psychologists for child therapy. I was too soft, that is why I think kids need to learn to pay for the things they do. Hind sight is 20 20. A lenient punishment just makes them less worried about getting caught doing the things that are unacceptable. If he is not seriously punished he wont take it serious. I do think being locked up with grownups is inappropriate. a reply to: tavi45

a reply to: tavi45

This also falls along the lines of many parents wanting to be 'friends' with their kids instead of parents

In order to teach/discipline, one must parent
But if one chooses the free spirit crap and let my kid- who is a minor make his/her choices- well that's not parenting hence not teaching

Many parents now a days for some reason have a hard time telling their kid 'NO'....they don't want to hurt their feelings
[we hear that a ton from our friends that have 3 unruly rug-rats]

Oh yes, I was spanked many times growing up
And given chores to do as well
I thank my lucky stars for all of that

I'm also thankful that all that was before this technology crap came along
Now a days they give a 2 year old a $500 IPhone...

While we were happy playing in the yard, bugs and all!!

a reply to: ThichHeaded

ABSOLUTELY test EVERY one to see if they are sociopaths and IF so THEY CANNOT lead because THEY are sick.

a reply to: cavtrooper7

How does one test for sociopathy?

a reply to: alienjuggalo

Isn't that the way Edmund Kemper started out? He killed his grandmother then his grandfather hearing the gun shot came running and he didn't want his grandpa to be upset over her death,so he shot him too.

a reply to: tavi45

With children of a younger age, one good way is if there are lots of incident reports ("so and so hit /pushed/punched/yelled at") etc....not turning a blind eye because "oh, my sweet little baby wouldn't do that sort of thing."

Not saying anything of the sort happened in this particular case, but it's possible.

The parents must have known something was up, or else the kid was an exceptional manipulator.

I had a bit of an naive aggressive streak in my younger days, and was set straight VERY quickly by a formidable parent who let me know exactly why what I was doing was wrong and what would happen if I ever did it again.

Some kids though, they know how to put on the Angel Face for mummy and daddy and have no reservations about milking that cherubic "innocence" for everything they can get out of it until there is no one around that is wise to their sadistic streaks.

A Neutral born killer he thought that he could have just avoided the law and by acting as a innocent child it seems this time the police did the right thing by locking him up.

I doubt video games caused him to do this.

a reply to: Agent_USA_Supporter

Was it the decadent West?

a reply to: Agent_USA_Supporter

Lol. I'm positive it wasn't video games.

He looks an awful lot like the kid who was in the 2007 film 'Halloween'

Actor in Halloween



The Cleveland Boy



Sorry, ATS has made me think this way...

... saying evidence gathered by prosecutors suggests the boy may have mental health issues.

YA THINK?!
I guess that's why we pay them the big bucks.

Jail time isn't going to help anyone. Not even a child. Children need swift punishment with explanation. I don't think there is any coming back from killing someone. Especially if the victim is a little old lady. I feel for her family.

I personally don't think that someones tax dollars should be going to supporting a murderer in prison. Just take the boy out back and do him up 'Of Mice and Men" style.


EDIT: We need to also figure out what causes kids to act this way. Why so many mental disorders run in kids...
But you know, mental disability could just be a cop out in this situation. I heard on the news that the kid did it because the woman 'annoyed him.' Obviously this kid had never been punished or told no a day in his life. Spoiled rotten child.

Although this story chills my blood, I have to say that his age really makes me question charging him as an adult. Regardless of what authorities choose to do, however, I believe that this boy needs extreme behavioral therapy. Conduct disorder fits the bill for this one, but with rehabilitation he might be able to overcome it or at least get the medication and help that he needs. Jails and prisons are not equipped to deal with mental health problems. Police officers are not psychologists. Putting him behind bars and throwing away the key would be a misstep. He is so young that there is a chance--albeit a small one--that he can be saved. Though he deserves consequences for his actions. But he should be treated first so that he actually learns something.

a reply to: rukia

Prisons have never solved any problem ever. They are just a means of social control to keep people afraid and towing (toeing?) the line. That's why white collar crime is so rarely punished. White collar crime is an approved feature of the system. They just have to make an example occasionally to appease the serfs.

Man. This makes me sad. iMO, this kid has no mental illness. Not only did he admit to wanting to hurt her but he also waited till she was sleeping till he did it. That's premeditation. He thought it out and then acted it out. But it does make me wonder about the environment he was raised in. Why did he think it was ok to try and hurt her? No one has taught him anything. Serving time in Juvi will not only teach him to pay for his crimes but also it will make him realize he doesn't want to make the same decisions he has.

At the same time, I and my other four siblings were raised in a very violent environment and none of us has ever done anything like this. Just so strange.

originally posted by: PageLC14
Man. This makes me sad. iMO, this kid has no mental illness. Not only did he admit to wanting to hurt her but he also waited till she was sleeping till he did it. That's premeditation. He thought it out and then acted it out.

Kids think this way all the time, it has nothing to do with teaching violence. The kid was trying to condition his grandmother that if she didn't give him stuff she would be hurt. It's a very natural human instinct to think that way and kids as young as him don't have a proper grasp of the consequences of that line of action.

The way I ultimately see it is that his actions ended one human being, if we just try him as an adult and throw him in jail for life that's ending another human being. The kid wasn't acting out of any malicious intent in the same way a mass murderer does, with the right mental treatment he can be a functioning member of society. Any reactions should be done with that goal in mind. Putting a kid in prison at his age for 20, 30, or 50 years means that's all he's ever going to know and will guarantee he goes right back if/when he does get free.