Boys Charged With Murder Need Help, Not Prison
( This post originally appeared on the Burns Institute blog)
When I was a baby, my parents came into my room to find my older brother trying to smother me with a pillow. He was three years older than me and upset that my dad had rocked me to sleep after telling my brother that he was "too big" to be rocked like a baby. In his childlike mind, I was the reason why his daddy wouldn't rock him. His action could have proven deadly, and possibly be explained by the sentiment that he was only 4-years-old – and didn't understand the consequences.
This incident came to mind when I read about the 9-year old boy charged with killing his father participating in a plea agreement in Arizona and the 11-year-old who is being accused of shooting his father's pregnant girlfriend in Pennsylvania.
From press reports, the details of what actually happened are unknown. However, it is clear that these two boys had access to guns and are accused of using them with tragic consequences. And, in both cases, local officials defaulted to the use of incarceration for these boys as a first response.
Are we so bankrupt as a society that we cannot figure out a way to supervise and intervene with preteens without incarceration? Shame on us. These little boys need help, not jail. What should be taken into consideration is that the pre-frontal cortex of the brain is responsible for “executive functions,†such as weighing the future consequences of current activities, and it is not fully developed by adolescence, let alone by age 11.
According to a 2007 study conducted by psychologist Laurence Steinberg of Temple University, the brain isn't fully developed until age 25. Countries like Australia understand this research and make it impossible for children under 11 to commit crimes. However, we live in a society that is hell bent on the idea that "punishment" equals "rehabilitation," which is why jail serves as the grounds for reconciliation. But what if you don't understand "the crime" or "the time" because you are simply too young? In those cases, what purpose does locking up a child serve? One inescapable answer is to feed an addiction to incarceration.
In Arizona the juvenile justice system has forced a 9-year-old boy to agree to a plea deal he probably doesn't even understand. Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, common sense policy has led the 11-year-old boy's defense attorney to request he be moved from county jail to a juvenile facility. According to reports, this boy can barely reach the top bunk of his cell. His prison attire is three sizes too big for him. What do you think is going through his head?
As the facts emerge one thing remains clear. These boys are not mini-adults and should not be viewed through that lens. They are 9 and 11-years-old. Let's hope and pray that the adults responsible for handling this situation act like grown-ups who understand children.
Anonymous
AS I read your article for my IT class, my Criminal Justice class waved its hand to respond. You are correct in stating that true brain growth is as late as age 25 IN boys. Girls brains do mature faster, which brings me to bring up a point. In all of the Crimnal Justice books I've logged through they all point out that criminality begans at a young age and continues until they "wild out" basically GROW OUT of IT but when it comes to MURDER and the ability for a lets say "Person" no matter the age, seems to be an inborn trait. My son and I debated wether the children could be "rewired" if you will. Ed seems to believe they can, I on the other thinks they've reached the age beyond "rewiring" for those basic inborn "DON'T Do" such as mindless killing. I say mindless because I do believe that children who are taken on hunting trips as the 2 little ones were- probably just mere youngsters their fathers taught them to kill without remorse. I pray their fathers did not show them how to kill and NOT to make good use of the meat from that kill. AS my next door neighbor tells me she could shoot the eye out of a bird BUT her father also taught her and her 11 brothers and sisters you kill lt you better eat it. Now for me a city girl I couln't even eat rabbit as I had 2 pet rabbits so eating one was not an option for me. I also remember the Bible saying "Train up a child the way he should go and he will not depart far from it" by the age of seven a child is pretty set in its personlity, and these boys have passed the age of 7. I feel in my heart for these children and would far more appreciate some alternative facility but what do you do with young murderers? How old was Jessie James when he made his first kill? 12, 15 or later? Or was he younger. The white brain matter you refer to IS still maturing for the harder questions in life such as should I clean my room now instead of after I come back from playing basketball- thats reasoning skills and do take a minute to kick in. However the ability to chose right from wrong is in place far younger than the age of 8, so then we do have to ask the question WHO will take on the task of rewiring these children-if not in a kiddy facility then where? They sure as hell won't be accepted into a regular elementary school. If you are a parent what do you do if they are placed in your childs school on a experimental program. Do you invite them home for milk and cookies? Do you send them to a mental ward for treatment? OK, you have the government build a kiddy prison for those that kill before they turn 18. Unfortunately with all the violent video games we need researchers to research if violent video games cause a lack of human emotions
human empathy. Do we assign blame to the increasing number of kids who rack up high kill totals to the games they played coming up to their 15 minutes of fame or do we just assume hat their crazy and need medicating?
March 2 at 08:59pm
