14 yr old murders 13 yr old

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OK, this is just messed up...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17646430/

Gang member, 14, charged with killing teen
He reportedly fired shots after man painted over his gang’s graffiti

Updated: 36 minutes ago

DETROIT - A masked 14-year-old gang member and several other youths cornered a man they suspected of painting over their gang's graffiti, and the boy then shot the man and killed a 13-year-old bystander, police say.

The eighth-grader known as "Little Capone" was charged as an adult Thursday with first-degree murder, attempted murder and possessing a firearm in a felony. Conviction on the murder charge carries an automatic penalty of life in prison without parole.

About 3 a.m. on Feb. 11, Caleb Sosa and two or three other young gang members set out to punish the 19-year-old for painting over their gang's graffiti on buildings, police said. They said the man fled to a friend's house, where Sosa shot and wounded him.

Christian Sanchez, 13, opened the door, and Sosa shot him in the head with the semiautomatic pistol, killing him instantly, police said.

Sosa is being held without bond at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility and is to return to 36th District Court for a preliminary examination March 22.

Sosa attended Earhart Middle School and has no criminal record but says he has long been involved with a gang, police told the Detroit Free Press.

Defense lawyer Lillian Diallo declined comment after the hearing.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I don't understand the practice of charging minors as adults. Minors are not allowed to vote but they can be tried as adults... doesn't make sense. The system bends the laws when it favors them. And somehow I bet black teens involved in gangs are more likely to be charged as adults, than are white kids who aren't in gangs but who commit murder. Just a guess.

One might view murder as being an adult act.

Never the less, moving dangerous people out of society into a place where they can't hurt society
is a reasonable step. If viewing the child as an adult allows that to happen, I'm all for it.

Worthless street trash...

The downward spiral of American society continues.

Excuse me while I apply for political refuge status in Norway.

I think so. Particularly in this case where the shooting was deliberate. 14 year olds should know what the consequences are of pointing a loaded gun at a person and pulling the trigger. I might actually feel sorry for him if he was playing around with a gun and it accidentally went off since that could be a childish lapse in judgement.

Also, I think it's a pretty sick mentality that he did this over grafitti. Wild animals handle territorial disputes better.

Agreed.

He should be executed, 14 though he may be, he is pure vermin.

But the human brain is not even fully developed until a person is in his 20s. People (even normal people) don't have full emotional control of themselves until their 20s.

It just seems like if a person is going to be given the risks of being an adult, while a minor, should they not also be given the privileges of an adult, while a minor? We say minors are not competent to vote, yet we say they are competent to be held responsible for their actions? To me that's illogical.

I don't believe in the death penalty. Ever.

I agree that he is vermin - someone who does something at that age over GRAFITTI doesn't deserve to participate in society.

Velkommen.

Just as an aside... Czechs think that Americans (including Czech Americans) are savage because of the ammount of violence that goes on. Basically they think that all Czech expat's who live in the U.S. should come back due to the present state of U.S. society. I find myself agreein more and more with that assessment.

He should be executed as he is very harmful to everyone. A child like that doesn't deserve a chance at life. Not any odd innocent 14 year old. Keep him alive for 4 years in prison, then judge whether or not he should die upon his 18th birthday. If he feels remorse, give him another 10. If he doesn't, execute him. Not only would such a corrupted kid's life be short and painful anyway, but it would be for everyone's good that the kid is removed from society. Minor or not, that kid is a monster, and must pay for his actions. Of course he knew what he was doing. The evil kid killed a seemingly innocent boy 1 year younger than him, over graffiti.

They should bring back the death penalty for serious crimes such as murder and rape/peadophilia. Justice must be dispensed.
That boy is 14 years old, and had some degree of responsibility. Teenagers who commit serious crimes should be tried as adults. Death penalty should be on hold until a person is 18 though.

My point stands. If I could decide on the penalty, it would be death by firing squad at 18.

There is a difference between brain development and understanding. He knew, at age 14, that shooting someone was wrong. He chose to do it anyway - over a stupid paint job, no less - and he killed a kid. There is emotional control - he could have been furious, could have fantasized about killing the man, could have talked tough - and there is action. He made a concious decision to do something and he should be punished.

We are taught as children what right is and what wrong is. Right is sharing our toys or playing nice with the pets. Wrong is hitting the other children or pulling the puppy's ears. Sometimes you get good things - like a cookie or a hug (ok, maybe not for aspie children, but the point is the same) - and if you do bad things, you get in trouble. As we grow older, this lesson is further entrenched in our brains, only now the rights and wrongs become more complex. However, we understand them. We have been able to understand them since the toddler days of yore because we were taught and it is in human nature to retain such early lessons.

However, we aren't taught politics on our mother's knees. At the age of 14, most people are ignorant of politics. They lean on their peers' opinions, their parents' opinions, and the closest media's opinion. They do not fully understand how government runs, and no, they should not be given the right to vote. But there is a difference - a large difference - between voting and murder.

I think he should be executed as well. He's not even in high school and he's all ready proved that he has no good qualities that will benefit society. He's hopeless, and he'll only get worse.

Well it usually depends on whether you live in the inner cities. I personally have never witnessed a serious act of violence against anyone in this country in person.

I, unfortunately, worked at a place where there was a shooting in the parking lot (while I was there). And ghettos in Salt Lake City are supposed to be tame by most standards.