Teens get 40 years in Dudley arson case
Teens get 40 years in Dudley arson case
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Wed Dec 12, 2007 18:18:20 CST
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Thu Dec 13, 2007 13:49:53 CST
Just my opinion here, after reading all the posts... I am glad they did receive some prison time. I believe if they do change their ways they will be out in three years. The one kid assalted his mother. My God if that doesn't tell you this kid is bad, I don't know what will. How could anyone ever lay a hand on the women that gave birth to him? They need to be taught that you make the choice & you do the consequnces which is jail time. Probation hadn't helped them nor did they complete community service. I pray for all those involved and truly feel for these mothers.
Thu Dec 13, 2007 13:48:57 CST
How disgusting is this?. The jury in this case have condemend CHILDREN to prison. How cruel and heartless. Yes, they need to take responsability but 40 years? God have mercy on hardend hearts. How disgusting is it to send CHILDREN to prison? I cannot comprehend it. And we wonder why socitiy is what is it.Yes, they can get out in 3 years on good behavior. But as CHILDREN right now they were sent to prison.
Thu Dec 13, 2007 13:18:48 CST
THEMIS I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE.IF THESE CHILDREN WOULD HAVE BEEN WHITE WITH THE SAME CRIMINAL BACKGROUND THEY WOULD HAVE GOTTEN A SLAP ON THE WRIST.EVERYONE KNOWS THAT IN ORDER TO MAKE AN EFFECT IN VICTORIA YOU NEED TO BE WHITE OR HAVE MONEY AND IF YOU HAVE BOTH THEN YOU RUN THIS CITY.JUST LIKE THEY ARE DOING NOW..LOOK AT THE RATCLIFF CASE.HERE IS A MAN WHO (SUPPOSIBLY) HURT A CHILD IN THE WORST WAY AND DID IT ALL WHILE SITTING IN THE COMMANDERS SEAT LITERALLY.YET HERE HE IS OUT OF JAIL ON A PERSONAL RECOGNICANCE BOND.NEVER MIND THAT HE COMES IN CONTACT WITH CHILDREN EVERDAY IF GOING SOMEWHERE.YET HE IS STILL ALLOWED TO ROAM THE STREETS TILL HIS TRIAL.WHICH BY THE WAY WE SHOULD ALL KNOW THE OUTCOME OF.WELL LET ME SEE EITHER NOT GUILTY BECAUSE OF SOME MYSTERIOUS MISHAPPENING IN THE CASE OR PROBATION.WE ALL KNOW HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT WORKS HERE IN VICTORIA WE SEE IT NOW AND HAVE SEEN IT IN THE PAST WITH OTHER CASES.HOPEFULLY ONE DAY IN THE NEAR FUTURE SOMEONE WILL HAVE THE GUTS TO RUN FOR ELECTION THAT IS NOT DRIPPING IN CORRUPTNESS....THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO PUT MY 2 CENTS IN
Wed Dec 12, 2007 23:02:07 CST
Well thank God the Justice system swiftly and fairly took care of this crime. It is not like they put the life of an undercover CIA agent in danger then lied about it. Now Scouter deserves mercy. Or stole Military supplies- sold them to Iran for a profit and gave the profit to a country that was forbidden by law. Now Ollie deserve mercy. Or covered up the burglary of the DNC office at the Watergate . Now Tricky deserves mercy. Or lied on a Tax form like Newt that deserves mercy. Well I think that these 16 year old Hispanic children should have been rich, white males with funny nick names like Newt or Sc-otter if they wanted to committee horrible felonies with no time in jail, or be a young white teenager and manufacturer and deliver drugs and jump bail, evade arrest but accuse a minority with political enemies of touching them you to can stay out of jail. Victoria and Republicans are a joke.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 21:56:18 CST
If that is the case then that is ashame, and certainly gives a glimps of what kind of home life that this child had to endure. However there are lots of people who have had bad childhoods that have risen above it all to be the best they can be in life. Maryann has a point though, children need real, responsible, loving parents and both parents, whether they are together or not. Commitment is a word that is not used in context anymore, we drop things when we get bored, we marry without viewing it as a life time commitment, and we have children because we were either not careful or believed the children would be a fun thing to have. Wrong...no matter how much we love them...kids are work...a lot of work. Parents need to be committed to the children they bring into this world, our children are our responsibility no matter what. People need to wake up...one day these children will care for us.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 21:39:08 CST
well Maryann one of the fathers is in prison for indecency with a child.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 21:32:06 CST
One thing I noticed in the articles in the paper was that the reporter kept mentioning the mothers in the writings. The mothers accompanied the teenagers to court, the mothers cried during the proceedings... etc.
What about the dads? Fathers are SO important in raising children, especially teenagers.
Dads, your children need you. Also, in my opinion, before women get mixed up with a certain man, look at him, what kind of a father will he make? How does he treat HIS parents? These are important things to look at to prevent the cycle of absent fathers.
(This applies to guys too- think about how you want your children raised before you put a ring on the finger of that little momma.)
Wed Dec 12, 2007 21:22:14 CST
The top FBI profiler made the following statement in a recent documentary that was done on profiling the mind of Charles Manson from his last interview in 1985, she said “ the lawmakers and courts in our nation need to rethink how they deal with youth offenders.”Of Manson she said “this is a classic case of what happens to a person when there was no parental love, nurturing, stability, or leadership in the life of a child.” Our over-crowded prisons offer very little in the way of rehabilitation and there are an ever-increasing number of young people entering each day. In another documentary recently broadcast the subject was how the gang activity, murders, rapes, mental illness, and more are working together to create a subculture of lifetime criminals that are being probated back into our society. A felony prison term already in itself puts a lot of limitations on the future of the person who is convicted, and that is the best option. So did the jury in this case give a reasonable sentence? I believe they did especially taking the fact that this was a kid who had a rather colorful past with breaking the law. The worst part of it all is does anyone think that prison will make a positive difference in the life of this young man? I doubt it, and we all know about the problems that have been brought forth recently with the juvenile detention facilities in Texas…no help there with irresponsible criminal types running things there. In this case when the parents didn’t do their job, the state did.
So what is the answer…what will it take for Americans to save our youth from the crime, drugs, gangs, and self-destruction that headline our news daily? I don’t have all the answers but I do believe that it is going to have to begin with parents. These parents did not do their job somewhere down the line…and they had plenty of red-flags come up along the way before this last incident came up, bottom line is they didn’t rise to the challenge in this child’s case. How sad.
We need to be aware, be on guard, and quit trying to fool ourselves...we are losing our kids because we are allowing them to get lost.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 21:11:07 CST
Let's see,my ex brother in law got 40 years for burglary when he was 15 but was tried as an adult and is now 34 years old still sitting in prison.For that one mistake he has spent more then half his life behind bars.It's going to be very hard for these kids to relate to the Real World when and if they ever do make it out.40 years is a very long time.A 16 year old still has the mind of a child/teen.They did something that was very STUPID and now they have been sentenced as Adults which in my opinion is way to much time.A 35 year old man that's been locked up most of his life, what type of man would that make him when he gets out?He hasn't had a chance to learn anything but how to be a better criminal while he was locked up.10-20 years maybe but 40,come on.Just my opinion,know harm intended.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:54:22 CST
I believe that the punishment for a crime must meet at least three objectives. The punishment should be meaningful to the criminal, be meaningful to the victim or society, and must serve as a deterrant to future criminal action by others. Does anyone disagree with this? I think an appropriate punishment has been given. Clearly, all points have been covered. Now, if these kids or their parents would like to address the issue of the injured fireman and the $1.8 million dollars required for the repair of this needless destruction. . .
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:50:55 CST
For the last 10 days, many individuals have been badmouthing the DA's Office about this case. There were all these wild stories about the boys being given a slap on the wrist, or probation. Guess what?? YOU WERE WRONG. Congratulations to the DA and his fine staff for a job well done.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:41:45 CST
These boys were both already on probation for assault. One also for burglary. It never said what he did to the class guinea pig he stole. They have been in & out of trouble since they were young. A choice between probation & 40 yrs I'll have to agree with 40 yrs since it was obvious probation didn't work for these boys. What they did is beyond a teen prank, they intentionally set fire to 100's of kids school which cost a tremendous amount of money to repair, they put peoples lives at risk & for what? Some candy, food or because it was there & they could. It's not like the school was left open, they broke in! Is 40 yrs the answer, I don't know, but maybe some other kids will learn from this & if they do then yes, it is the answer.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:41:23 CST
thats crazy, the guy who killed my father (silvester ramos) 2 years ago only received 25 yrs and that was after years of life in and out of prison, no doubt these young men needed t be taught a lesson but that much time was ridiculous.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:38:28 CST
That's an idea, Horned Frog. (We always said Horny Toad, but I think your name sounds better as you have it.)
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:37:54 CST
Yes they did what about the fire fighter that was sent to the hospital. What about the children that had no class room to go to.. I agree then pay the 1.8 million in damages.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:36:22 CST
Maybe the kids should just pay the $1.8 million restitution for their crime and go free.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:35:32 CST
I think with forty years, they'll might get out in ten IF they can convince the parole board they've grown up and can contribute to society.
Forty years doesn't mean much in the prison system with parole, unless, they gave them forty years served THEN the chance of parole. I haven't seen that.
They do need to be made an example of. Causing almost 2 million dollars of damage, harming a firefighter, are no small deeds.
Hopefully word gets out, you light a fire and you too get burned for a decade or two.
As a mom, I feel for them too. But this sentence MIGHT prevent them from killing someone for a while and getting the death penalty in the short run.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:32:50 CST
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:26:57 CST
But they didn't injure anyone... and they didn't mean to injure anyone. Drive bys and the like are done by people who want to hurt someone. If these boys wanted to intentionally hurt someone they would have done it when there were people there.
That is the distiction here.
They wanted to vandalize and destroy property and they are now going to have to spend FOURTY years behind bars.
There are people who MURDER and MAIM people in drive-bys and robberies and get less time.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:21:10 CST
Well I must respond to your post. I have two sons of my own. I was a single mother raising my first child alone and put my self through college and became a nurse. I worked 3 jobs to make sure my son and I had a wonderful place that we could call home. I raised him to be respectful and honest. when he was 15 he turned to the wrong group of friends and it was down hill for 1 whole year. It took his probation officer 5 min to paint him a picture of the prison life. And believe me I drove him to probation he mowed lawns to pay his restitution. Back then 500 dollars was alot to a 15 year old. I must say now he looks back and says mom I am so glad you believed in me and stood by me. I agree these kids are teenagers that did a stupid thing. But, if that was something they did for fun I would hate to see what would happen if they got mad.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:19:39 CST
I want to add something else...I do think these boys should serve time. That is justice. I just want to reiterate: 40 years seems outrageous.
They are kids and I don't think that these children should have to spend essentially their LIFE in jail because of a really stupid mistake.
I just don't want to step on toes, I just wanted to express how crazy I think 40 years is.
They didn't kill anyone and the entire school (from what I read) didn't get ruined. I read only a few rooms and the library... but I could be wrong on that.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 19:17:42 CST
i personally think they deserve it. you can say what you want but this will be something that other kids think about when they think about breaking into your houses, cars, or shooting someone in your families. before you talk about how they dont deserve it YOU need to thinik about the fact that now they cant cause more trouble.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 18:58:51 CST
I don't want to upset ANYONE ... but I have to comment. I noticed that what I assume is a mom (by your screen name) posted a comment of delight about this sentencing. I have boys of my own (toddler and an infant). When I was a teenager I did some pretty stupid things. I didn't destroy or steal anything, but I did stupid things.
I know that no matter what I do, my boys are bound to make mistakes. I pray to God that my guidance, love, and the faith in our home help them to not make hurtful mistakes.
But if for some reason, they do something this stupid for any reason, I would be inconsolable if they were sentenced to 40 years in prison.
These boys are 16 years old. If they have to serve the entire 40 years, they will be 56 years old when they are released.
All for something they did when they were 16.
I am not saying that what they did is not completely WRONG. I am just saying that before anyone goes jumping up and praising the Lord for this "justice," they SERIOUSLY do some thinking.
Take yourself outside of the box and put yourself in their parents shoes. Would you want your kids to have this fate?
That's all.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 18:58:51 CST
WOW, what a novel idea, an operating justice system.Now if we can only do something about these shootings / drive bys / hold ups.
Wed Dec 12, 2007 18:18:40 CST
hallelujah!