5-year-old stabs 3 people over a juice box

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Hmm, I was thinking about this some more. I realize I don't have much knowledge about the criminal justice system. I looked up the minimum age for juvenile hall and it appears to be around 8 usually but will go as low as 6 in extreme cases.

Actually, I think Asp-Z has a good point, even though I find the tone slightly offensive. Maybe if juvenile hall was more appropriate for younger people (ie a specific subsection for people around 5-8 years old), then maybe it would be beneficial?) The kid needs to know that he was wrong. I don't think he deserves a criminal record, but he definitely needs to know that he was in the wrong.

On the other hand, I kind of think intensive psychological evaluation and treatment may be more appropriate. Am I being naive?

I think we should leave it to the experts. They seem to be on top of the situation and sure they will monitor and deal with it appropriately.

I almost commented on this a few days back, but decided against it, partly because of the mood I was in that day.

It may just be me, but after reading through the entire thread, it looks fairly clear to me that some of you guys are misinterpreting Aspie-Z. He hasn't advocated the same punishment for five year olds as for adults. The only thing he has advocated is using the criminal justice system to address the issue. The kid DID commit a crime.

I happen to agree with him, but before anyone jumps to conclusions, hear me out:

MOST of the solutions everyone else has been suggesting, I ALSO agree with. For example, the kid obviously needs some serious psychiatric help, not prison.

Now consider this. How did this kid get to the point at five years of age, to NOT understand that what he did was wrong before he did it? I don't agree at ALL that no five year old knows that stabbing someone is wrong. Certainly many of them DO know by that age. I sure as hell did.

This kid apparently either did not know it was wrong, or did know, but did it anyway. Clearly, either way he is a danger to others and if the problem isn't addressed, will likely do it again (at least that is "the safe assumption" that we as a society should base our decisions on as opposed to assuming it was just a fluke and that he'll most likely never do it again).

The questions are, "Did he know it was wrong, and if not, why didn't he know?" and, "If he did know, why did he do it anyway?"

The answer to the first question might be found in his environment. Maybe his parents didn't teach him right from wrong properly, or maybe he grew up in a violent area and has seen this kind of behavior regularly. The answer to the second might be found in either his environment or in a psychological condition or both. We don't know.

What we DO know is that whatever the cause is, the environment he grew up in didn't prevent this. His parents didn't prevent it. Whoever else influenced him didn't prevent it.

That's where the judicial system come in. That's what their job is. To step in when parents, extended family, and whomever else are unable or unwilling to prevent this kid from acting out like this. To step in and find out why, and what needs to be done to prevent it from happening again. Leaving it up to those who let it happen isn't a solution. If it were it wouldn't have happened in the first place. After something like this happens, should we really trust those who have been in charge of this kid to solve the problem? That doesn't really make sense.

The judicial system isn't just about putting criminals in jails. We do have juvenile and family courts for a reason. This is one of those reasons.

Perhaps those of you who disagree with Aspie-Z don't have as much faith in the judicial system as he does, and I can understand why. It's not perfect, but it is what we have, and it is the appropriate system to ensure that whatever should be done with this child, is done.

When a child gets to the point of violent actions like this, it's too late for time-outs. Too late for a slap of the hand and a "Naughty boy! Don't do that again!" Those are things one does for kids that steal a cookie from the cookie jar, to teach them right from wrong. When those things don't work for the appropriate reasons (like stealing a cookie), something else must be wrong, and that needs to be addressed, otherwise you end up with kids like this, stabbing people. When a kid gets to that point, it's already far too late for traditional training methods. The kid is damaged, either from lack of proper training, or a psychological condition no one bothered to address. Courts can make sure that whatever others failed to do, can be properly addressed through the proper agencies set up to deal with these kids.

Hopefully, the kid will eventually no longer be a threat to society.

The judicial system is set up intentionally to protect children's rights. Even the rights of kids like him. Part of that process is ensuring he gets the help he needs that those of you not agreeing with Aspie-Z say he needs. Why would you NOT want the system whose job it is to ensure that, to do that job?

They're certainly not going to put a five year old in prison with gangsters, murderers and rapists.

Yes... he did advocate throwing a 5 year old in jail. The follow up to trial under criminal code is imprisonment. See below. This is not taken out of context. That is the entirety of his response to that question

I agree with MrXXX or whatever his name is. But Asp-Z thinks the the child should have a criminal record that may haunt him for life. This is where we disagree.

I don't think the kid should have a record for life. Once the court gets involved, everything goes downhill.

People need to get involved, but the kid should have not have a permanent record. That is the sole disagreement that I have with Asp-Z.