"Extraordinarily violent and cruel" That's why they are being charged as adults.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/extraordinarily-violent-and-cruel-prosecutor-describes-sex-assault-case-at-damascus-high-school/2018/11/26/a48dde98-f19d-11e8-aeea-b85fd44449f5_story.html?utm_term=.c8ee20c1b894

Good grief. "Multiple brooms were discovered Sunday evening on and near the Damascus High School grounds, according to the principal."

https://www.mymcmedia.org/brooms-discovered-on-damascus-high-school-grounds-sunday/

And wtop says they were all granted bail.
So. Since they are 15- does this mean MCPS will be sending home teachers to them? Or will they be going to another MCPS school? Or the Blair Ewing center?
And BTW the state’s attorney said he was offended by calling the actions “hazing” (*memo to Dr Smith, listen up!) and stressed that these actions were violent rapes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody is doubting the severity of the crime. The question is whether it's appropriate to charge 15-year-olds as adults. Some people seem to think that the size of the juvenile is a relevant factor.

+1
And they are not ashamed to say so

Some people also seem to think that juvenile detention centers are for "minor" crimes like shoplifting and vandalism.

Prosecuting children as adults is what weak, "tough on crime" prosecutors do. It appeals to the American thirst for vengeance, but is bad for recidivism, and only serves to destroy the futures of young lives. It's a punitive act taken before the youth is even found guilty. It will likely remove the opportunity of an education and mental health services from the youth ensuring that there is little hope of rehabilitation or a decent future. We just don't believe in redemption in this country.

Fortunately, there is a movement throughout the country to stop the experiment of prosecuting children as adults. The experiment has not worked. We have juvenile courts for a reason. It should be used for all juveniles, and be designed to handle all juveniles.

They violently raped multiple boys.

They do not belong in the juvenile court system.

Didn't you know that the kids are juveniles? That's what the juvenile court system is for. Juveniles. They are not adults.

In this case they are adults.

What is wrong with your logic and how do you not understand the despicable deviant nature of their adult crime?

They are not adults, they are children. It's not logic. It's just what they are.

Crimes are not "adult" or "child" crimes. Are you suggesting they are magically not children because they did something bad? Sorry pal, they are still children.

I never indicated that I don't understand their crimes. It's not beyond the juvenile justice system to administer justice to any child. In fact, if a child does something horrendous, that's when we really need the services of the juvenile justice system.

+1. No matter what the crime, they are still children. That doesn't mean they should not receive penalties. But they are children.

I think we're conflating three distinct things here:

--the legal definition of child vs. adult

--the guidelines for when juveniles are charged as adults

--when juveniles are charged as adults, whether they are housed with other juveniles or with adults

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody is doubting the severity of the crime. The question is whether it's appropriate to charge 15-year-olds as adults. Some people seem to think that the size of the juvenile is a relevant factor.

+1
And they are not ashamed to say so

Some people also seem to think that juvenile detention centers are for "minor" crimes like shoplifting and vandalism.

Prosecuting children as adults is what weak, "tough on crime" prosecutors do. It appeals to the American thirst for vengeance, but is bad for recidivism, and only serves to destroy the futures of young lives. It's a punitive act taken before the youth is even found guilty. It will likely remove the opportunity of an education and mental health services from the youth ensuring that there is little hope of rehabilitation or a decent future. We just don't believe in redemption in this country.

Fortunately, there is a movement throughout the country to stop the experiment of prosecuting children as adults. The experiment has not worked. We have juvenile courts for a reason. It should be used for all juveniles, and be designed to handle all juveniles.

They violently raped multiple boys.

They do not belong in the juvenile court system.

Didn't you know that the kids are juveniles? That's what the juvenile court system is for. Juveniles. They are not adults.

In this case they are adults.

What is wrong with your logic and how do you not understand the despicable deviant nature of their adult crime?

They are not adults, they are children. It's not logic. It's just what they are.

Crimes are not "adult" or "child" crimes. Are you suggesting they are magically not children because they did something bad? Sorry pal, they are still children.

I never indicated that I don't understand their crimes. It's not beyond the juvenile justice system to administer justice to any child. In fact, if a child does something horrendous, that's when we really need the services of the juvenile justice system.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would your opinion be different if the perps had allegedly raped 14 year old girls with a broomstick?

We would not be discussing this because the court might not try them and certainly not as adults.

Remember the court system is full of Bret Kavanaughs.

This is what happened with the RHS rape case last year.

Victim was a young girl. Case basically got thrown out with people saying it was consensual, even though the victim was a minor and the rapists were adult males.

The case was thrown out because the community doesn't value female and doesn't want illegal immigrants to be proscuted.

It got thrown out because there are text messages to the boys asking them to have sex.

if you want to talk about a real case the Richard Montgomery case is a real case where they did not value the female.

Haven't you liberals learned anything from this past year?

If she changed her mind and said no at any point, it is still rape.

She didn't change her mind she was just trying to get out of trouble for being late for class.

You know girls lie right.

5 girls at Seneca lied about a rape.

Or are you liberal and #believeher without evidence

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No duh the system is broken.

All the white bankers that crashed the economy got bonuses.

Yes, we need reform and parity.

Are you often this unhelpful?

Are you often too dense to understand.

Anonymous wrote:

uh no

But you still don't get what I'm saying. A NORMAL 15 yo with boundaries and a healthy outlook would NEVER do something so vile. It has nothing to do with NORMAL brain development.

And you're helping to prove my point with the adult bank robber. Adult criminals have criminal histories stemming from youth. If these 15 yo kids think that their actions were within normal range, what's to prevent them from raping others in the near future?

I GET why kids are damaged, as I've taught thousands of kids over the span of my career. However, we need to protect innocent kids from harm. And that means we RECOGNIZE which kids who are dangerous to others and take action.

Nobody is saying that this is a normal, typical thing for a 15-year-old to do. Everyone agrees that it's terrible.

Are you saying that any 15-year-old who would do such a thing must be charged as an adult (even though they are not an adult), because that's the only way to prevent them from harming others in the future?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would your opinion be different if the perps had allegedly raped 14 year old girls with a broomstick?

We would not be discussing this because the court might not try them and certainly not as adults.

Remember the court system is full of Bret Kavanaughs.

This is what happened with the RHS rape case last year.

Victim was a young girl. Case basically got thrown out with people saying it was consensual, even though the victim was a minor and the rapists were adult males.

The case was thrown out because the community doesn't value female and doesn't want illegal immigrants to be proscuted.

It got thrown out because there are text messages to the boys asking them to have sex.

if you want to talk about a real case the Richard Montgomery case is a real case where they did not value the female.

Haven't you liberals learned anything from this past year?

If she changed her mind and said no at any point, it is still rape.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think it is a camp, I think it is a place to reform juveniles, and yes, I hope that a 17-year old would be able to be reformed. And these KIDS did not intend to scar their teammates for life like they did. It was terrible judgement but do you really think that them being 15 was not a factor in their bad judgement?

There are PLENTY of normal 15 yo kids out there where this would NEVER cross their minds.

My daughter is 6 months shy of turning 15. She was disgusted by the incident.

NOT normal behavior for even the most impulsive teen - These kids are not healthy, and based on this incident, I highly doubt they've been living in some bubble.

DP. Saying that being 15 was a factor in their bad judgment is not the same as saying that all 15-year-olds would do this. Just as, for example, adults rob banks, but that doesn't mean that all adults rob banks.

Do you consider your 6-months-shy-of-turning-15 daughter an adult?

uh no

But you still don't get what I'm saying. A NORMAL 15 yo with boundaries and a healthy outlook would NEVER do something so vile. It has nothing to do with NORMAL brain development.

And you're helping to prove my point with the adult bank robber. Adult criminals have criminal histories stemming from youth. If these 15 yo kids think that their actions were within normal range, what's to prevent them from raping others in the near future?

I GET why kids are damaged, as I've taught thousands of kids over the span of my career. However, we need to protect innocent kids from harm. And that means we RECOGNIZE which kids who are dangerous to others and take action.

Highlighting this paragraph from the previous link:

Holding youth charged as adults in secure juvenile facilities across the state is important for many reasons. First, it ensures that juveniles will immediately receive mental health and educational services that are considered appropriate for such youth while they await trial. Youth held in adult jails are not required to receive these services. Second, it protects youth regardless of their geographic location.Each county jail treats youth charged as adults differently. The majority of youth are either held in solitary confinement or in the general population with adult inmates while they await trial. Third, it decreases the likelihood that a young person will return to the criminal justice system. Youth held in adult facilities are more likely to reoffend and reoffend more violently than those treated in juvenile facilities. Finally, it protects young people from harm. Studies show youth held in adult jails are at a higher risk of physical and mental harm from other inmates and guards.

Anonymous wrote:

No duh the system is broken.

All the white bankers that crashed the economy got bonuses.

Yes, we need reform and parity.

Are you often this unhelpful?

Anonymous wrote:

You must be the parent of one of the perps. No one who commits a crime thinks about the fact that they might be scarring their victims for life. That doesn't negate the fact that they committed a HORRIBLE and VIOLENT crime. Being 15 may have factored into their judgement but that doesn't make it an excuse. Please tell me how many 15 year olds in MCPS would do the same behavior - if it is more than 0 we as parents have a serious problem because that means no child is safe in our schools.

BTW - the health education curriculum for 2nd quarter of 5th grade states that students will learn to "recognize sexual harrassment as a form of violence." Obviously 1st degree rape is much more serious than sexual harrassment. MCPS expects 10 year old children to understand this and be graded on it on their 2nd quarter report card. But please go on making excuses for a bunch of violent 15 year old rapists

To repeat: "15-year-olds should be charged as juveniles" =/= "the alleged crime wasn't serious". A reasonable person can believe that the alleged crime was serious AND that 15-year-olds should be charged as juveniles. And if you believe that only the parents of the alleged perpetrators could believe such a thing, I really don't know what to say.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Didn't you know that the kids are juveniles? That's what the juvenile court system is for. Juveniles. They are not adults.

To be clear, you think child rape is an offense that should be handled differently than adult rape?

DP. I think that non-adults accused or convicted of crimes should be handled differently from adults accused or convicted of crimes.

So if a 17 year old murders your kid, you're ok with juvie camp?

I don't think it is a camp, I think it is a place to reform juveniles, and yes, I hope that a 17-year old would be able to be reformed. And these KIDS did not intend to scar their teammates for life like they did. It was terrible judgement but do you really think that them being 15 was not a factor in their bad judgement?

again

Let's say it was YOUR kid who was sexually assaulted. What would you be posting?

That is why victims families are not allowed on a jury.