Local nooz: An Arizona 8-year old has been charged with premeditated murder

[Stinky The Clown]

He shot his father and his father's buddy.

I can understand that part.

I can't get my head around an 8 year old premeditating murder. It just won't go there.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. He's 8 ! !

What the hell are the laws like in Arizona? I don't believe this. The law doesn't even recognize eight-year-olds as having the necessary "mens rea" to be able to formulate a crime.

Got a link to that? Because if that's the case, we're right up there with Iran in terms of mad laws.

Arizona. Please, please tell me this isn't so.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Here ya go ...... from Flagstaff

http://wjz.com/national/boy.double.murder.2.859583.html

Quote:

On Friday, a judge determined there was probable cause to show that the boy fatally shot his father, Vincent Romero, 29, and Timothy Romans, 39, of San Carlos, with a .22-caliber rifle. The boy faces two counts of premeditated murder. Under Arizona law, charges can be filed against anyone 8 or older.

[silverojo]

3. Anything's possible in Arizona

That's why we moved away from there.

[LisaL]

6. Gee so what should be done with the kid if he had done

what is alleged? Would you have him in your house?
By the way his father is now dead, and the mother was living in another state. Who exactly should be raising him?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

15. Right now, the issue is not who is "raising" this child.

He's in custody, and probably won't be released to any kind of home environment, be it family or foster care, in the foreseeable future.

The issue is to find out what happened. What prompted this kid to do what he did. The story might never be made public.

I know enough, and I'm sure you do, too, not to judge anything or anyone until we have all the facts. And, where a child is concerned, we are obligated to be extra careful.

[LisaL]

21. Hah? Who should be raising him isn't an issue?

And here I thought we are discussing what should be done with children accused of committing violent crimes. Should they be charged as adults (and at what age)? Should they be charged at all? And since this child is only 8, it's not out of the realm of possibility that he is going to be released into someone's custody.
:eyes:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

22. Excuse me?

Did you read the two words with which I began my post?

Brush up on your reading skills, my friend.

[sandyd921]

4. Do 8-year-olds even fully understand

the permanency of death?

[ogneopasno]

5. There's gotta be a history of abuse, I'm guessing.

[gratuitous]

7. You know, there was a time . . .

You know, there was a time when Americans weren't such fucking pussies that they'd wet their pants over a piece of videotape. We understood things, we knew how things worked. One of the things we understood was the concept of a minor. Nothing magical happens when a person turns 18 years of age. It's just that by that age, our society figured that a person had enough life experience and a sufficiently developed brain to have an idea about how things worked. At least, we figured that was as good a dividing line as any.

There's been talk of moving the age of maturity down or up, modifying it for this or that circumstance. Most 16-year-olds can get a driver's license. But we restrict alcohol consumption to those who've been walking around for 21 years. But at 18, a person is deemed sufficiently mature that he or she can enter into a legally binding contract. The military, to cite just one example, seems pretty aware of this. Credit cards and finance companies do, too.

But an eight year old? No. Our society doesn't recognize an 8 year old to be old enough, mature enough, or to have a sufficiently developed brain to understand the permanence of actions. Who's the idiot D.A. who brought these charges? Who's the idiot judge who didn't disbar the idiot D.A. as soon as the D.A. came in with these charges? We're such a bunch of pussies anymore that we can't even deal with 8 year olds anymore.

As always, I blame the Republicans.

[Cleita]

8. Please tell me that this child isn't a minority.

I just don't think a white child would be accused this way.

[AZBlue]

9. I know 8 year olds who could do it, especially if abused and taught to hunt as he'd been.

Police Chief Roy Melnick said that the boy did not act on the spur of the moment, and that he planned and "methodically carried out the acts."

"I'm not accusing anybody of anything at this point," he said. "But we're certainly going to look at the abuse part of this. He's 8 years old. He just doesn't decide one day that he's going to shoot his father and shoot his father's friend for no reason. Something led up to this."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/11/08/20081108stjohns.html

This isn't at all standard procedure here. Prosecutors aren't given full details, but I'm going to wait to hear them, if they do release them, before I judge their decision. In any event, my heart goes out to this boy and I hope he gets help he needs, whatever that may be.

[Lord Helmet]

10. they suspect something freaky deaky might have been going on

[Stinky The Clown]

11. Such as ..... ?

:shrug:

[Gwendolyn]

12. Well, there's this odd detail for one...

"The boy's biological mother visited St. Johns during the weekend from Mississipp, and returned to Arizona after the shootings, Carlyon said."

Pure speculation, but it's possible her visit sparked something, especially if it was an unhappy household and the kid had dreams of being reunited with his mother.

[lonestarnot]

13. Now you have it. Arizona!

:eyes: The weakest link, next to Montana.

[Coventina]

14. I don't know about 8, but I know 9 year olds can plan murder.

I know this, because I witnessed it.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

16. We all planned murder when we were kids

Didn't everyone? We always had a list of people we wanted to die. Of course, we had no concept of what that meant, but it's part of the viciousness of being little kids, who are, as everyone knows, a dangerous and malicious bunch.

[ecstatic]

18. LOL @ the Crickets. I don't recall planning murder

Maybe my memory is just bad? :shrug:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

19. Not me. I even went and still go out of my way to escort bugs outdoors.

[Coventina]

20. Yes, kids will spout off hateful things in a moment of passion

But I had a 9 year old pull a loaded gun on me and his sister.

It wasn't cute and it wasn't funny.

Being on the business end of a gun isn't something you easily forgive or forget.

[ecstatic]

17. I read that the police are pushing to try him as an adult

Sorry, the only person who should be charged is the idiot who made the gun available to an 8 year old--or the ones who allowed him to watch violent movies and play violent video games.

Of course, there is always the chance that the kid is an irredeemable psychotic asshole...