Thursday, March 03, 2016

Punishment As Children? Or Do They Know Right From Wrong Enough To Be Charged As Adults?

These are some very disturbed people:
Four teenagers in Payette, Idaho, have been accused of burning down their principal's house in retaliation for a school suspension.

The four boys, including three high school students and one middle school student, are allegedly responsible for a blaze that destroyed the home of Payette High School Principal Mark Heleker in the early morning hours of Feb. 22, the Idaho Statesman reported...

Police investigators were led to the four boys through social media. Clark said the investigation began with a Snapchat message one teen reportedly posted, which bragged about starting the fire and contained a fire emoji...

The teens will be transported to Canyon County Juvenile Facility once they are arrested. All four will initially appear in adult court, although some may be transferred to juvenile court at a later date.
Words fail me.

3 comments:

PeggyU said...

What a horrible act! In addition to the property damage, they might easily have killed someone. It is possible the man's family lost pets.

I have a friend whose house burned down a few years back. The fire department never figured out the cause or ruled out arson. It took two years for her to rebuild, and even though insurance paid for the loss, I know that the actual cost outstripped the reimbursement. On top of that, she lost her three beloved cats. I feel for anyone who has experienced this trauma.

Tell me again why we don't have caning here?

Mike Thiac said...

I wanted to check the law first and yes, at 14 in Idaho they can be charged as adults.

And yes, this is beyond belief.

http://legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/1998/S1332.html

Ellen K said...

Had someone died in the fire, we would be talking murder. As it is we are talking about destruction-essentially theft-of property far beyond what would require felony arrests. Is there someone who is seriously going to say these young men don't deserve more than a stern talking to?