We are speaking about a minor. One who has not been emancipated through the courts, and one who is by state and federal law a minor because he is under 18 years of age. We have flawed systems. The systems of pre-determinate maturity and the penal system are not functioning adequately. We all know that a person can die for their country three years before they can drink. And we know that by imprisoning this child, he will have an increased probability of becoming a repeat offender in the future.

I would like this child to become a functioning citizen. Punishing this child by imprisoning him to a probable life of revolving correctional facilities will not bring King back to his parents.

So I look forward to when we can strategically plan ahead and not act now irrationally.

The incomplete development of the frontal lobe of teenagers has been raised, I suspect by more than one person. This doesn’t so much limit kids ability to know something is wrong as it limits the ability to control impulses. While admittedly I am speculating, he almost certainly understood his actions to be criminal, but he likely had less ability to control those impulses than an adult. I think we all also suspect that he had been taught to believe that violence against inferior (here gay and/or transgender) people wasn’t as bad as other forms of violence.

I am not actually interested in either of those arguments. Even assuming the issues with brain development to be accurate, we don’t at this time understand the influence environment or personal choices have in this matter. And considering that some children have greater impulse control than others, we really don’t have a good way to determine who should have good control vs. those who are at a biological disadvantage. And arguing about what he was taught is too close to the “gay panic” defense for me.

Yet still, he is a young child. As another commenter has said, we would not allow him to act or be treated as adult in any other situation good, bad or indifferent.

The juvenile court system was set up long before there was any serious understanding of the differences between adults and children. Yet as a whole we agreed that there was an important difference between adults and children. And that children could not act with the same level of responsibility as adults. It may not be 100% accurate, but we agreed that 18 was a reasonable way to separate the two classes for most people.

I am reluctant to hold someone responsible for not controlling himself and abiding by the law if we are going to do it in a manner that shows our own unwillingness to control ourselves and abide by the rules.

Of course he needs to be sentenced. Hopefully it will involve rehabilitation so that he won’t be a reoccurring problem or financial drain on society. And yes, the vileness and needlessness of the crime demands that society has a continuing interest in monitoring his actions and development. But I don’t believe it is necessary to try him as an adult to accomplish any of those things. Also, as I suggested before it strikes me as not abiding by our own rules when we randomly decide to prosecute certain children as adults.

There are those of us who mature more quickly than others mentally, physically, spiritually … and those that, for whatever reason, mature at much slower rate wether it be from educational status, geographical location, psychological make-up …

…bottom line is that society (once again) is trying to force this circumstance into a category, to separte and limit the outcome of this individual’s actions. Again, regardless of his age, was he aware of what he was doing at the time of his actions? If so, determine at that time what society is going to do about his actions. Education, understanding and listening are good starts …

Even though I might not agree for the death penalty for kids under 16, I am not looking for an eye for an eye. My question is did McInerney ever hear about that killing was wrong? Didn’t he ever learn or hear about if you killed someone you forfeit your life either by prison or by death? If not then we need to start teaching that along with the 3 R’s.
What happen to the parent’s responsibility to teach right and wrong? (Yes, I know dad is dead now).
What about holding the religious leaders of his community responsible for their teaching about hate?
I don’t want to hear some religious leader whining about the gay kid deserved what he got. If it was your kid, would you accept that? Or Are you one of those who give your kid a rock when they ask for loaf of bread?
And doesn’t say in your religion that you’re to love your neighbor as your God loves you? Or are you like the Pharisee who tried to do a con-job on Christ, to find a quick excuse and some fine print to get out of having to love their neighbor, as Christ has loved you? You remember; one of the same Pharisees who you claim killed your God, because they didn’t like being called on their selfish wrongs, steeling from the poor, keeping people away from the temple who were not good enough in their own Pharisaical sight, judging others wrongs with out walking in the other persons shoes, just like the same wrongs you do daily? I guess from your actions, your God’s love is really conditional, hu? I know some people believe in getting clean-up in their own sight, before they take a bath, hu? Then theirs that “good and faithful servant”, thing, “come into my kingdom because I was hungry and you fed me, lonely and poor in spirit and you visited me, naked and you clothed me”, that’s probably lost on you, along with why the Holy Roller got kicked out. That’s right you’re too busy speaking in tongues, telling people what they are doing wrong, doing the superior dance, and doing your empty heath and wealth thing. C.S. Lewis’ Uncle Wood Worm would be proud of you getting the masses to chase their own tails with empty dogma.

If you don’t believe in anything like this, this was not meant for you.

Even if you don’t believe in some deity, there’s the golden rule out there “do to other as you want them to do to you”. So you’re telling me this kid did not ever hear of that? If it was up to me, put this kid into prison for the rest of his life, just like they did for the murders of Mathew Shepard. I see this as no different. Let this kid have a real long time to think about what he did.