Suspect in Conn. school stabbing under psych evaluation

[sarisataka]

Suspect in Conn. school stabbing under psych evaluation
HARTFORD, Conn. -- A teenager charged with stabbing a fellow high school student to death on the day of their junior prom is being held in a hospital under psychiatric evaluation where he will likely remain for two weeks, one of his attorneys said Saturday.

The 16-year-old suspect, who was charged as a juvenile offender, will not appear at an arraignment scheduled for Monday in New Haven, attorney Richard Meehan said.

The teenager is accused of fatally stabbing Maren Sanchez, 16, in the hallway of Jonathan Law High School in Milford. The attack occurred Friday morning, hours before the school's junior prom, and authorities were investigating whether Sanchez was stabbed after turning down the suspect's invitation to the dance.

"He asked her to prom; she said, 'No, I have a new boyfriend,'" junior Jill Davis told CBS News. "He strangled her and then slit her throat and then stabbed her in the arm and then ran, and the cops got him."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/connecticut-school-stabbing-suspect-being-held-under-psych-evaluation/
It is always sad to read about such extremely violent actions by children. I wonder if there is ever any teaching on how to manage anger and deal with setbacks?

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. Today I took my niece to see a very popular young adult movie, Divergent

Just like Hunger Games, it's about a dystopian society. The main character is a mortal teen girl with tremendous physical prowess, and the rest of the movie consists of torture, killing, shooting, hitting, punching, kicking, smacking, humiliating, screaming, threatening, and I didn't need to count but the number of dead was up there.

With movie like these for young adults, books like these, videos that are even more violent, and songs that are violent, I'm not at all surprised that some kids who are not that well balanced finally go over the edge. Hell, even well balanced kids probably go over the edge with this crap too.

[sarisataka]

2. I hope to see that movie

but it sounds like it may be more shallow than I thought.

I do not fully accept the violent media arguments for people's action but I have seen some compelling research that certain age groups may be at least partially desensitized to violence by violent media. At this point I will not accept that explanation nor dismiss it witout consideration.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

4. It's about as exciting as anything violent Hollywood pumps out - shooting, torture, 1 hero, danger,

girl likes boy, yada yada yada Hollywood crap and more Hollywood crap.

If you've seen Hunger Games, better save your money. All those young adult dystopia violence books are copycats of one another. Replace one name with another, and voila! Same with the movies.

I do think being surrounded with violence harms the brain, whether it's physical, verbal, or filling the eyes with violent visuals or the ears with violent sounds.

This is more dangerous in the United States than in other countries because life in the U.S. is not exactly the epitome of security, warmth, and coziness. There's no seriously cohesive extended family here, no warm frequent contact with their neighbors, tremendous crime, no financial security, constant relocation (moving around once per 5 years), and we've all grown accustomed to thinking of this life of anxiety as normal because it's all we know.

Add to that a nice amount of violent entertainment, and the result is what we live among - violence and crime.

[REP]

5. Dystopian science fiction is not new

The Marching Morons, 1952 mass murder
A Canticle for Liebowitz, 1960 numerous murders and other violence
A Boy and His Dog, 1969 numerous murders and other violence

I've just named the first three written works that came to mind (true, they're all very well-known) but there are countless more. Most writers' vision of what puts the "dys" in dystopia is violence.

The three works I mentioned are far superior to the dreck of Divergent or Hunger Games (which is a rip-off of the Japanese Battle Royale). A Boy and His Dog was adapted into a movie in 1975 and elements of The Marching Morons have been used in several movies, including the original Robocop and Idiocracy.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. I think you're confused by my posting. I never said dystopia is a new type of fiction.

It's my fault for not expressing myself correctly, so I paraphrase here:

I said that there's a new Young Adult fad - young adult dystopian, and highly violent fiction, and it's all copycat, repetitive, boring, and pure violence.

[Crepuscular]

3. Well,

he's just an excitable boy.

[951-Riverside]

8. This is a great way to get out of serving any real time

Pretty soon every murderer will claim insanity, serving time in a psych ward with video games and TV beats serving time in a state prison. What murderer wouldn't want that?

[LAGC]

13. No, it doesn't work that way.

He'll only be held in the psych ward until he's found competent, with the right cocktail of meds, then he'll go back and stand trial.

Most psych wards have even fewer privileges than most prisons do, and any time spent within often doesn't count towards your actual prison sentence.

If he has any hope of ever being released and not spending the rest of his life locked up, he will gladly cooperate and proceed back to court.

[seveneyes]

9. extremely violent actions by children?

This was a young adult that chose to murder an innocent woman in cold blood. He can not be turned loose to kill again. Just shy of 17 is no adolescent child. You do not murder someone and expect to ever be free to kill again.

[Straw Man]

10. I wonder what happens if/when he is convicted.

I have worked in maximum security prisons and was somewhat surprised to observe that some of the inmates are on psych meds.

It strikes me that someone on psych meds belongs in a psych facility, not in the general prison population. Am I wrong? Naive?

[seveneyes]

11. Dangerous humans that have murdered need to be kept away from other humans they could kill

It looks like this killer may be convicted as an adult...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024878462

[Straw Man]

12. No argument there.

Just thinking that psych patients should be kept in a secure psych facility for violent offenders, not in the general population where they don't get the extra supervision/treatment that they need. Throwing them in with everyone else creates a danger to them and others.

[LAGC]

14. Most people who are mentally ill can function quite fine once they are on the right medication.

Most mentally ill prisoners have no problems "mingling" with the general population.

[Straw Man]

15. But who is making the decision that they are "fine"?

I think a higher level of supervision is warranted.

[LAGC]

16. Presumably the prison psychiatrist.

But if a prisoner ever feels they are in any danger, they can always request PC (Protective Custody)... most prefer the relative freedom of general population, so they dutifully take their meds and play nice with others.

They aren't all pariahs, you know.

[Straw Man]

17. In my experience ...

... the prison psychiatrist is overburdened. The mainstreaming of psych prisoners wasn't accompanied by a sufficient increase in psych staffing in the prison system.

I realize that they aren't all pariahs. However, I have seen them receive bullying treatment from other inmates. This should be addressed.