A few days ago in a small town near by there was a murder that happened. Of course I've been hearing multiple stories but the gist of it is that a 14 year old boy stabbed his father to death. There was a history of abuse to the story and it was either an act of self defence or defence of another family member. Like I said there's been rumours so I don't want to say I know what happened for sure. Apparently the wife had shown up to work with bruises a lot, always having some kind of excuse as to what happened- fell down the stairs, bumped into an object, ect. One of the stories I heard was that the father was choking the mother and the boy stabbed him from behind multiple times. Regardless of the story, the boy is being charged with second degree murder. Whether he is being charged as a minor or an adult I do not know.
There's been many a discussion in the office the past couple of days regarding this incident. Should the boy go to jail? Should he get away with it? It's murder, and that's that. It was self defence which is good reason. The years of abuse is punishment enough. Where I stand on the matter some might say is immoral. As a Christian I believe it is wrong to kill. The law is the law, however, I am wise enough to know that God can forgive any sin. So if God can forgive it, can the courts not as well? I don't think this boy should go to jail. He's 14, think about it- A young boy goes to jail and gets mixed in with other delinquents. He starts getting in fights with fellow inmates or gets beat on, picked on and such. Put yourself in that situation? You'll probably start fighting back, and that wont look good for you. Or you don't fight back and keep getting verbally and physically attacked and you slowly get broken down piece by piece. What would that do to your psych? Or there's the off chance that everyone would get along and all would be well, he'd serve his time and possibly get out and go on living his life. Thats highly unlikely though I'd say.
I had two brothers in jail, I know what it can do to ones mind. One of my brothers ended up joining a group that he shouldn't have and that's a very scary thing. But he did what he thought he had to do to survive. Take a 14 year old and put him in that situation, I'd bet he's very influential, who knows what would end up happening. I don't however think he should just get away with it. But I firmly, strongly, whole heartedly believe people who get pushed into the justice system should get counselling. I think it should be mandatory. I myself have been in counselling before and it made me feel so good. I felt like I was getting a hold of the things that were wrong. I felt comforted and it was so nice to have a "random" person who I didn't personally know to shed a perspective on my life. Sometimes you need to talk to someone outside of your little box. This kid needs to understand what happened to him, he needs to know what he did was wrong, but he needs to know that he's not a bad person for it. Stick him in juvy and I doubt he will learn that.
His sister had written on Facebook saying that her brother was a hero. A hero. That speaks volumes. A boy kills and his sibling calls him a hero. What kind of life must you have lived where killing is heroism? It breaks my heart. What went on in that household? What did those kids witness? Did people know? Why was nothing done? All of these questions are too late, but the situation can change moving forward.
It's easy to say someone killed a human being, he should be put in jail for life and suffer the consequences. But think about it, put yourself in their shoes. No one in my family has killed but like I've said I've had family in jail. Trust me when I say your view changes. I'm not saying people shouldn't go to jail, I'm saying that more should be done for that person who has done wrong. They need help, they need programs. There is a problem with them or in their lives and it needs to be resolved. Putting someone in jail and just waiting for them to get out to only have them do the same thing again is not a resolution. Because what is to stop a person from committing the same crime again? I'm not talking about just this boy when I say this, I'm talking about people in general.
This is not a perfect world, nor is it supposed to be. There will be pain, there will be suffering, and there will be consequences. Choices are made daily and the outcome of those choices affect many. In conclusion of my whole point of view here I'd like to say, if I were angry enough to kill, obviously there is more to the story then the news would let on. My emotions wouldn't be talked about, my tears wouldn't be mentioned, my state of mind would possibly only be considered as crazy. We are human, don't we deserve a chance at a better life with the help of people who can give it? We are not alone, so why stick someone in a cell to feel like they are alone and just leave it at that? More steps need to be taken. Because we are human. Because we make mistakes. But humans are capable of learning from those mistakes and I feel like that is forgotten.
I pray for this boy and his family, I pray that whatever the outcome they can stay strong. I ask God to look over them as I know He is, comfort them and guide them. I pray this boys mind stays right. I ask the Lord to carry them through this difficult time and to clear the minds of the courts to help make decisions to better the situation and not make it worse. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment