Here's a new one I haven't seen before:

[conuly]

Scrap goat for "scapegoat".

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Comments

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

I agree that there ought to be a clearer distinction between minors and adults, but I think that in cases of violent crime, 16 ought to be legally considered 'adult', and tried as such. Taurus Buchanen was tried as an adult, and he got an adult's sentence.

I don't agree with mandatory sentences of life without parole. I think it ought to be an option, but only used in cases of 'career evil' such as serial rapists and murderers, human traffickers, etc. Maybe Taurus Buchanen at 16 hadn't achieved that level of evil yet, but from the court testimony I read, it sure sounds like he was working toward it as fast as possible.

I would not be a good choice for a jury to hear a case of second-degree murder committed in the course of bullying, because due to my lived experience, my fixed opinion is that those who hurt vulnerable people for fun deserve to be stomped. Wah wah, the killer is so sorry now that he and his two cousins ambushed a little boy out riding his bike, and beat him to death in cold blood as he screamed "leave me alone, leave me alone"...? Cry me a frickin' river.

[conuly]

The more I learn about our prison system, and compare it to other places, the less I like the way we run things. I really don't like life without possibility of parole, especially not for minors. I don't think our justice system is equipped to hand that sentence out equitably, and even if it was... I think it's an abdication of what prisons should be for, which is rehabilitation. I'm okay with keeping people locked up if they won't rehabilitate, or can't, but I'm not okay with saying at the start "not you!", especially not when our prisons veer towards inhumane.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

I certainly agree that the whole prison system is a mess, and needs to be overhauled from the ground up. However, I don't agree that prisons should be 'for' rehabilitation. Prisons should be for keeping dangerous people where they can't harm others; it's not for their benefit that they're sent there. If some of those people choose to rehabilitate themselves, that's all to the good, and they deserve some help and encouragement in doing it, but prison is not church, school or therapy, and should not be expected to act as such.

I do agree that it's cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a teenager to spend the rest of his life in prison with no hope of ever getting out. However, for those who want to concern themselves with this issue, there are 3,278 people serving life sentences without parole for non-violent offenses (https://www.aclu.org/report/living-death-life-without-parole-nonviolent-offenses), and I'd say their cases merit more attention than that of Taurus Buchanen.

[conuly]

Prisons should be for keeping dangerous people where they can't harm others; it's not for their benefit that they're sent there.

I disagree. I think it's to society's benefit if we get those people functioning and back in the world.

However, for those who want to concern themselves with this issue, there are 3,278 people serving life sentences without parole for non-violent offenses, and I'd say their cases merit more attention than that of Taurus Buchanen.

I think I can manage to spare attention for both issues, and also the issue of my cat licking my face with stinky breath.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

"I disagree. I think it's to society's benefit if we get those people functioning and back in the world."

I didn't say it's not to society's benefit if people rehabilitate themselves, and leave prison to lead law-abiding lives. Obviously, when people do that, it's to their own benefit as well. But, equally obviously, people are not sent to prison "for their own good", because if they agreed it was for their good, the doors wouldn't need locks.

The idea that 'these people' are not functioning begs the question of what 'functionality' looks like in the world to which they're to be sent back. Sounds like Taurus Buchanen was functioning just fine in his world, till he was unlucky enough to commit murder when he only intended assault and battery.

Did you ever read A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, or see the movie? (The book is better, of course.) Alex, the protagonist, is happily and successfully well-adjusted to his ultraviolent world, till he's unlucky enough to commit murder in the course of assault. The attempt to get him 'functioning' and back in the world doesn't go so well, because the world is the same one he left, only now he's prey rather than predator.

There's only so much damn a person can give, and I haven't got any to spare for bullies who beat children to death. Perhaps Taurus Buchanen's life sentence will serve as a cautionary tale to other teens: sucker-punch someone, and you might grow old behind bars, because "I didn't mean to kill him" is not a valid excuse.