How the hell can an Eight Year Old be charged for murder as an Adult?

[MadBadger]

I just heard on MSNBC that Arizona has 8 years old as the threshold to possibly charging somebody as an adult. This is in reference to the 8 year old boy who killed his father and another man. This is a sad story, but I find this disgusting that a state thinks its alright to charge an 8 year old as an adult. That is just laughable to me. He has ten years to go and probably hasnt even starting puberty yet, and AZ thinks its alright to do this? What the hell is wrong with those people?

[notadmblnd]

1. I think that there is a large population of people out there that hates kids

And I just wonder what sort of things this child had happen to him that would drive him to kill a parent? I haven't heard much on this story except that he took a gun and killed two people.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. It's insane, but some states keep dropping...

the age. What's more insane is that there's an amazing amount of sympathy for this nonsense.

Not having a reasonable way to deal with these kids who kill seems to be part of the problem-- treating them as an adult is the easy way out for many.

[librechik]

3. stupid statesgiving in to RW pressure--what is their motive?

increasing prison populations becasue states get paid for them and private corpoarations make millions off them.

All disguised as moral outrage, to get the stupid Repiglicans to vote for them.

[DBoon]

4. kneejerk vengence as a criminal policy

someone who can't get past "bad people must be punished" when it comes to dealing with crime

[Ian David]

5. They could be doing it to intentionally lose the case.

The jury can only find the defendant guilty of the charges that are presented by the prosecutor.

If the child was sexually abused, the prosecutor could be intentionally over-charging the defendant thinking the jury will nullify the case.

Or maybe I'm just watching too much Boston Legal.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

6. I heard a police spokesperson today say that the child will so far be prosecuted as a juvenile.

He will undergo a competency hearing which will most likely find him incompetent to be able to aid in his own defense.

[Mike 03]

7. That crime occurred not too far from where I live.

What I've heard is that the child is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation and that police are looking into the possibility he was abused by the individuals he killed.

That would boggle my mind if they actually charged him as an adult.

[surrealAmerican]

9. Even if they quite reasonably decide not to charge this ...

... eight-year-old as an adult, there is no good reason why the state should have that option. No matter how horrible the crime, a child is not, and ought not be considered, the legal equivalent of an adult.

[curse of greyface]

8. It is wrong... simple as that. nt

[Hepburn]

10. It's Arizona....

...need any other info?

The wife of a US Senator does NOT get charged for drug thefts from a charity, but an 8 year old gets a Murder 1st charge.

I would love to see how the hell they square that law with Piaget... :shrug: