Trying as an adult

I'd say it is right to try her as an adult. In the UK two children were tried as children for the murder of a toddler and now they are free under new identities. The lack of conscience in this type of crime indicates severe sociapathic problems which will not disappear when the girl becomes of adult age.

This is a very good discussion and I wish I had more time to spend on it, but its after midnight here. Our laws may be slightly different. It would be unusual for a teenager under 18 to be tried as an adult. Unfortunately though, if a 15 year old was tried as a child, she would only get the youth detention centre. For the murder this girl did, & her reason for doing it, I would be very, very concerned. Its her reason that worries me more. There is something seriously wrong with this girl. Yes, it may be her background, & yes, her parents can & should be held partially responsible. This girl has no sense of right or wrong, no sense of guilt... that in itself leads me to believe that she is seriously physchotic. Yes, try her as an adult. She may well be found criminally insane anyway. Either way, she needs to be put in a secure facility for a long time, and to receive thorough mental asssment. It may well be her parents fault, but at age 15, she is not going to change in the near future, if at all.

WOW! Thought provoking questions is the right place for it! I guess the line is drawn at 18 and as you say, must be drawn somewhere. It seems though, that in California, they have made other considerations to that rule and made allowance for some younger than 18 to be tried as adults. I think that is a good rule and no doubt much "testing" of the girl was carried out before the decision was made. Without knowing all the facts of the case, and going merely on the information here, I'd say she SHOULD be tried as an adult. Her statement discloses a very troubling situation which raises questions: Does she have a mental problem? Evidently! Were the parents aware of it? or did they ignore it? Has she been treated for it? (if so, it would have been reported?) Has she been exposed to a great deal of time playing violent electronic games or similar things? Again the parents should have been aware. Have the parents noticed a change in behaviour? Or has she always had these tendencies? Unless there is a definite medical problem which has only just surfaced, the parents must share the guilt. If the medical problem has not just developed (I don't think that type of problem does) and has been ignored by the parents, they share the guilt. If she has been having treatment, shouldn't the medical team have foreseen something like this? There are many questions to be asked before deciding whether or not the parents should be held partly responsible, and as an onlooker without the facts, I am pleased it isn't my decision, but I tend to at least partly blame the parents.

This is a really tough question, dawnald. I have a 15 yr old daughter. I am thinking that if she went so far as to commit murder just to see how it felt then she must have some serious mental issues that should be addressed. I know some parents do let their kids run wild but most do not turn into murderers as a result. When a young person commits a crime as serious as murder then there is more than likely something else going on in their life that needs to be paid attention to. Then there are the victim's family to consider. I really don't know what the right answer to this.

My thoughts are mostly like others too. If she is able to do adult-like crimes, then she must be prepared to receive adult sentences too. I don't think parents should be blamed, because they are not the ones doing the crimes. Unless it is like intentional on their part and instigating their child to do it..

I think how your child turns out is up to the parent. U sst the rules early & have have to abide by them. Making a child behave from an early age does not mean u don't love them in fact i think it's right the opposite. I always took it personally when my child misbehaved, i felt like i at failed them. I think at 15 a person knows right from wrong. This girl had to know that killing that child was wrong. I think she should be tried as an adult & PUNISHED LIKE ONE. i THINK HER PARENTS SHOULD BE RIGHT THERE W/HER. MAYBE IN FRONT OF HER.

while parents raise their kids they cannot control every move their kids make, that would be wrong too. you want kids to develop and grow so they can be useful members of society.

i would say the severity of the crime,with me. however they still should evaluate the mental status of the individual-some adults don't think on an adult level either. in the case of murder,"adult" should be used in the sense it doesn't automatically get wiped from their record at 18.that could be dangerous if they have serious issues and could do it again. we have a case local where the murderous former child has said point blank if he gets out,he would do it again.but as far as him thinking as an adult,i don't think he does.i think he has some clear and definetly bad wiring going on.i can't remember if they said if his home was abusive or not.

Wow that's a lot of questions! As far as trying a child as an adult, I don't really have any opinions on it. I guess they should probably create harsher punishments for children who commit serious crimes, so they can still be tried as a child... either way, the punishment should always fit the crime. This particular girl, sounds like she belongs in a mental hospital and not a jail! Should the parents be held responsible? Absolutely! I ALWAYS blame parents when I see or hear about children acting completely uncontrollably. But holding the parents responsible isn't enough. Someone else has to step in and teach the child that what they did is wrong.

in this case i think it has to do with mental problems. im sorry, but i really dont think anyone is going to change if they are so far gone that they can and will kill just for the experience. from what i've read and heard,etc. a person like that can not be cured. if it didnt bother her, and obviously it didnt, nothing is going to cause her to have feelings for another persons pain and/or life. they put that Woodham boy behind bars for 140 yrs without parole. thats definately life!! because he killed his mom, then went to school and killed a couple other people. he was 16yrs. cant remember where it was but he is in the max security in Tennessee i believe. anyone like that should be put in a mental ward and never get out. they have no feelings and nothings going to give them a care. so they are dangerous to society.

This can be very confusing if you ponder on it. I think that it would be the severity of the crimes and I guess how calculated it was as to if I would think that a child should be tried as an adult.

I'm kind of unsure on this one. But then I would have to say it would have to depend on how harsh the crime was, on whether or not the child should be tried as an adult. Sometimes though, I think in certain cases, that the child shouldn't be tried as an adult and that maybe they need some type of counseling or something in that sort. But that is just my opinion.

ya it is child's abnormal mental stage as they watching and observing some adult films more obviously that make them such volgur, and thier parents also responsible for this. it should be condemnable.

Being tried as an adult is really what should be done here cause otherwise you risk having another Ted Bundy or Son of Sam scenario. Children are quite impressionable why they are young , this one child one way or the other has been exposed to environments that have seeded the evil that caused her to do what she did. So far what I can assume is that this child is more grown up than any normal 15 year old , unless she is mentally ill which you dint mention so I assume the girl is of complete good health ...mentally and otherwise Bottom line is ..being tried as an adult is better cause it avoids any future time bombs waiting to happen when she is finally all grown up and can plan things on her own and further develop in her evil menace. Haven't any of you ever seen Dexter ..the TV series .... the hunger to kill is strong in this minor.

Well, this is quite interesting and personally makes you wonder about the Mental status of someone like this, and a little bit about their past as well. To do something like this to a neighbor at such a young age makes me wonder what type of things are behind this. Did the parents get along with this neighbor, or had they been saying Bad things about them, or was the child molested by the neighbor, etc. I am hoping they really examine this case well, and run some Mental evaluation tests on him as well. Something like this and a child getting charged as an adult at 15 does not sound right at all.

To me it is right as she committed a severe crime and the excuse is so pathetic, a 9 year old lost their Life because this 15 year old wanted to know what it felt like to Kill? She deserves everything she gets she has ended a young Life and in my eyes why should she get away with it just because she is 15, she knew what she was doing as she said ' she wanted to know what it was like to kill ' so Adult or not she deserves a severe sentence Ok she is not able to drive and all that because she is not an adult, but she committed a really bad crime she ended a life, for the reason she did it is just awful, really awful There are no reasons to take Life, but this I have to say is terrible

We cannot really make a fair judgment on this case based on a few sentences, just too many quetions as to why she did what she did,i think only a psychoanalyst can maybe get a rough grasp of the situation and perhaps judgement will be based on their recommendations,which is about the only way that can shed some light in an otherwise tragic and frightening affair. The punitive laws are designed for sane people who intentionally cross the line fully aware of their actions and possible consequences,consciously choosing to do the crime! This instance ,the fact that she took another human life just out of curiousity denotes a deeply warped mind,even a 9 year old have an instinctive feel of whats right or wrong, and taking of a life ,human or not, is a psychological line most sane people will not cross,Child,teen or adult alike. we just dont know do we,? was she born that way,unable to have a conscience due to some defect of the brain,or was she pressured into becoming a killer during her formative years growing up in a certain type of environment? Can we punish a person for being diseased.? Or do we punish the parents for giving birth to a physically challenged child ,because we would definitely hold them accountable if they intentionally cripple their own child. So b4 any thing,that has to be determined!

I watch Nancy Grace a lot and saw this case from the beginning. Yes, she should be tried as an adult because she not only stabbed this young nine year old girl, but also slit her throat, beat her, and then buried her... Which all had to be planned out. My boyfriend believes she is a reincarnation of a serial killer... I dunno where the parents were, but they said she had been raised by her grandma. Which means her grandma might of not set boundaries... There's a video on youtube of the girl and her friend shocking themselves on an electric fence. Nancy Grace aired the video last night, and you should be able to find it.

she must be treated as an adult nd punished for the crime.the gore movies which are being made can also have an impact on the kids coz they think tat it would be really amazing if theye follow those played in the movies nd parents need to play an key role in raising kids so tat they dont commit these kind of offences.gud day.

From what I know of the general legal system, she should be evaluated by a psychologist, then her parents will also be evaluated by a psychologist and their home screened by CPS depending on the results of all 3 the child will either A) Be tried as an adult because they found no reason for mental instability in the child herself or in the home B) Be tried as a child because her mental state proves to be normal although immature for her age or C) Be committed to a mental rehabilitation hospital because her mental state was found to be completely insecure and unable to comprehend the gravity of not only the murder of the 9 year old child but of the sentencing in the trial as well. More than likely she is being tried as an adult because she truly did want to know what it felt like, which more than likely will make her a serial killer later in life so might as well strike while the iron is hot. Not to mention, no you arent an adult at 15 but your damn close enough to it to know you cant just go around killing people. I had a job and was paying bills at 15 and I never killed anyone. Provided she doesn't have the mental/emotional capacity of an 8 year old they have every right to try her as an adult. You commit an adult crime, expect to get adult punishment. This was no accident, she flat out confessed to doing it on purpose, this was premeditative murder. "In California, a child as young as 14 can be tried as an adult for certain more serious crimes." Uhhh - Tell me, does it really get any more serious then cold blooded murder??