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[water_wendi]

I think you can draw the line where people plan and act like normally an adult is supposed to do. Your biological age is of course linked to your mental age, but some people act like adults at age 16 and some people are more compared to 16 year olds at age 18. Of course, the same person at 14 or at 18 will act differently, but the fact is that some countries treat a juvenile as a full adult if it can ascerted that its behaviour is in cordordance with adult behaviour, the reverse is also possible.

In this case, the planning, the amount of killings and the way the killings were performed certainly indicate that he knew what he was doing. I'm not familiar with US crimininal and juveline laws, but here he would certainly by fully trialed as an adult with subsequent possible punishments.

This is something that hasnt been said in this thread yet (if it has ive missed it). Plenty of times adults are ruled to be mentally incompetent and are sentenced accordingly. We arent talking about someone who replicated a wrestling move and accidentally killed someone. We are talking about someone that helped murder over a dozen people over months.

 

[CaviarMeths]

The guy was 17, you cant give life without parole at that age, people that say oh 17 is close enough to 18 well where would you draw the line? 16? 15? 14? Well the fact is that line is supposed to drawn at 18 simples

Dunno about you, but when I was 17, I may have skipped some classes, drank alcohol, and shoplifted a couple of times, but I never murdered a whole bunch of people. 17, and sure, even 16, 15, and 14, are plenty old enough to understand that mass murder isn't really a cool thing to do.

 

[frankie_baby]

Dunno about you, but when I was 17, I may have skipped some classes, drank alcohol, and shoplifted a couple of times, but I never murdered a whole bunch of people. 17, and sure, even 16, 15, and 14, are plenty old enough to understand that mass murder isn't really a cool thing to do.

Oh i totally agree but tue line already exists and i find the US fetishism for forgetting that line if a crime is really bad just smacks of revenge rather than justice

 

[DeSo]

The DC sniper is dead, he was executed

 

[Trumplestiltskin]

The guy was 17, you cant give life without parole at that age, people that say oh 17 is close enough to 18 well where would you draw the line? 16? 15? 14? Well the fact is that line is supposed to drawn at 18 simples

Well evidently, you can. Since that is what happened.

As for where you draw a line, you don't need to pick a very high age. IIRC 12 is the youngest age for criminal responsibility (though still youth-oriented).