Oregon Judge reduces spys sentence

[Kevinkris]

it may be a redundant and pointed question but it still makes a fair point. in some ways its comparable view on gun control making it more difficult for people to arm themselves because of the potential damage they can do with it; though not an entirely compatible comparison. i just dont see how he cant be seen as a victim of his father more than an accomplice. he was 11 years old when he was convicted and was likely conditioned from a very young age to do the things he did. even medical doctors would tell you that he was physiologically incapable of understanding the magnitude of what he was doing and why he would benefit from his actions. simply because his mind has not fully developed. the part of the brain that provides a moral compass would have been fully functional but if he had been taught that was he was doing was the right thing to do, he wouldnt have had the ability to think critically about his actions.

you are right though, its not an approach i would use typically.

 

[U201491]

it may be a redundant and pointed question but it still makes a fair point. in some ways its comparable view on gun control making it more difficult for people to arm themselves because of the potential damage they can do with it; though not an entirely compatible comparison. i just dont see how he cant be seen as a victim of his father more than an accomplice. he was 11 years old when he was convicted and was likely conditioned from a very young age to do the things he did. even medical doctors would tell you that he was physiologically incapable of understanding the magnitude of what he was doing and why he would benefit from his actions. simply because his mind has not fully developed. the part of the brain that provides a moral compass would have been fully functional but if he had been taught that was he was doing was the right thing to do, he wouldnt have had the ability to think critically about his actions.

you are right though, its not an approach i would use typically.

No different than a VC 7 or 8 yr old walking toward you with a grenade, or One of the same age in the middle east pointing an AK at you, you don't consider age or reasoning capabilities, you put a round in them or you die.
He was tried for what he did, not for what he could potentially do.
In many countries maturity is developed at very early ages. Is that right? Probably not, but facts are they do.
A 8 yr old or 12 yr old can kill you as quickly as a 30 yr old.
We live in a culture very unlike most others.

 

[Kevinkris]

self preservation is a bit different in this case but i cant deny the threat a child can pose in the case of the children in the VC army; which could potentially be no different in any war. i would say on this subject, it would be like holding a child responsible for stealing when the mother or father instructed them to do so. sure the things he did were more sensitive and could have put lives at risk radially but there was no way for him to understand that the way that you and I could.

another point on child soldiers though; even though many soldiers (and some that may be on this forum) found themselves in a situation where they had the choice of killing a child or dying, they wouldnt have felt good about making the decision to live at that cost. as an outside observation based on a single conversation i had with someone that had experienced it, i would say that many of those men who followed through do not feel that child deserved death for what they were doing but received death because their parents put them in that terrible situation. i feel for those who have had to do this and i wish that it wouldnt have been something anyone would have to go through.

if we are talking 14 (being the youngest i would accept) i would say that they had much more awareness of what was going on.

 

[U201491]

self preservation is a bit different in this case but i cant deny the threat a child can pose in the case of the children in the VC army; which could potentially be no different in any war. i would say on this subject, it would be like holding a child responsible for stealing when the mother or father instructed them to do so. sure the things he did were more sensitive and could have put lives at risk radially but there was no way for him to understand that the way that you and I could.

another point on child soldiers though; even though many soldiers (and some that may be on this forum) found themselves in a situation where they had the choice of killing a child or dying, they wouldnt have felt good about making the decision to live at that cost. as an outside observation based on a single conversation i had with someone that had experienced it, i would say that many of those men who followed through do not feel that child deserved death for what they were doing but received death because their parents put them in that terrible situation. i feel for those who have had to do this and i wish that it wouldnt have been something anyone would have to go through.

if we are talking 14 (being the youngest i would accept) i would say that they had much more awareness of what was going on.

It is not something any normal person relishes at any age, but it is done and there is little that can be said beyond that.
To dwell on it can destroy you.
War is simply that, hell in our time. But it must be done. Even in a cold war scenario.
You do what is necessary for the good of the end. Choices are few.
Regardless of age, anyone that damages our country must be held accountable.
Weakness and sympathy will only get you defeated. That is part of the reason they use the young.
They know people here have that weakness.

 

[Kevinkris]

its a fair point but i still cant get past holding a child accountable for following their parents instructions. its really hard to say the child is a bad person for holding his dad in high regard at that age, im pretty sure any of us would have done the same thing in his situation.