Monday, August 17, 1998 Speaks Out
Andrew Golden and Mitchell Johnson, ages 12 and 14, were
recently sentenced for the five murders that occurred at a
Jonesboro, Arkansas elementary school this past March. Tried under
the state’s juvenile code, the boys will stay indefinitely at a
youth detention camp until they turn 18, and must pay a $500 fee
each. How should the courts handle youths who commit adult crimes?
Should the parents be held accountable?
‘They know killing is wrong, but from what they see on TV, they
see that killing is glamorized. Violence is condoned on TV. Parents
should be held more accountable, because parents are the ones who
teach their kids right from wrong. The courts made a good decision
in this case; they shouldn¹t be sent to jail for life.’
Hernane Tabay
Third Year,
Chemical Engineering
‘I think it depends on the crime; with things like murder and
robbery, they should be tried as adults. I think kids at this age
do know right from wrong, and it¹s the parents¹
responsibility to see that kids know that you¹re not supposed
to steal, cheat and murder. Even so, kids have a mind of their own,
and the courts shouldn¹t hold the parents accountable. A lot
of times the parents do the best that they can, and the kids still
come out crazy.’
Qjana Butler
Fifth-Year,
Psychological Biology
‘They should be tried as juveniles. In a way, it¹s not
their fault, they don¹t know right from wrong. It¹s not
the parents¹ fault either, unless it was negligence or
something. I don¹t know what the cause was, maybe a chemical
imbalance or something, but they shouldn¹t have to pay for it.
It could just be a bad thing that happened.’
Anil Shanker
Third Year,
English
‘I think that kids should be held less accountable for their
actions because they are younger. Probably a lot of it comes from
their parents, and I think that their parents should be held
accountable. Where do kids get the guns from? I don¹t think
that keeping kids in jail for the rest of their lives would be
good; they should get some kind of counseling.’
Tim Pringle
Third Year,
Undeclared
‘When it comes to punishing kids, I think that the age matters.
The older somebody gets, the more they learn, and they get a
greater conscience. Some action, like house arrest or counseling,
should be taken to get the kid on the right path.’
Rafael Jiron-Morrison
Fifth Year,
Sociology
‘They should be tried as adults but without the possibility of
the death penalty. By that age you should know right from wrong,
but if for some reason you didn¹t, just putting them through
detention centers, that¹s not going to let them to know
anything. They need to have more drastic consequences.’
Miquael Cottrell
Third Year,
Physiological Science