Adult Consequences

  The two girls who were charged with stabbing a friend in Waukesha two years ago will be tried as adults. This news came out within this last week.
  This has naturally generated some strongly worded comments both pro and con. There are some that feel that this is a gross injustice as their girls were children and didn't really know what they were doing. There are concerns about mental health issues and how these issues will not be addressed should the girls be found guilty and wind up in adult prison. They write about how the girls could still have a good future and that they are not dangerous.
  Then there are those who favor them being tried as adults. They write about how this murder was planned. The girls were going to do it once and then didn't. These commenters talk about how children at 12 years old do know right from wrong and can distinguish between fact and fiction. They also note that this was a very violent crime and that the consequences should be equally serious.
  I'm not sure what I think about this. Both sides make good points.
  There are several things that have always bothered me about this. One of them is that no one seems to have had any clue what these two girls were into. The two girls were fans of a website of horror stories. They were such fans of this site that they believed one of the characters was real. How is it that none of the parents knew about this?
  After the attack happened both of the girls were diagnosed with moderate to severe mental illness. How is it possible that they showed no signs or symptoms of anything before the attack? I know I'm not a mental health expert.  Maybe it was brought on by the trauma of the attack.
  Another thing I wonder about is how they were able to plan it. They honestly believed that it is all right to kill someone. I can't even begin to wrap my head around it. I have no idea what it must feel like to treat human beings as if they were disposable. Even more amazing to me is that they actually did it. They stabbed a girl who was a friend of theirs 19 times. How can anyone do that without feeling even a little twinge of..... something.
  If I remember correctly juvenile court was meant for crimes committed by younger people who were maybe too immature or had other factors that would make adult court unfair. There would be some punishment, but the juvenile record is expunged at age 18. I can understand the reason for this. It is so someone who may have had a troubled youth can get a fresh start.
  However, I don't think that juvenile court is appropriate when this kind of a violent crime has been committed. I get the arguments that the girls were young and immature. I understand that being tried and convicted as adults will pretty much ruin their lives. I also know that they planned and carried out this violent act and the consequences should be in line with what they have done.
  I don't believe that this is something that should be expunged at age 18. I think that this gives them the wrong message. When you do something as serious as this, the consequences should be just as severe.
  This is a worry I've had for a long time. We're becoming too much a society of "it's not my fault". Too many times people seem to think that they don't have to accept the consequences of their actions.
I also believe that we are becoming too attached to our electronics and too detached from real human beings. There are some that say the girls did not know what is real and what is not. There may be some truth to that. After all when you kill someone in an online game, they always get back up again. Since so many people, especially younger people, spend more time online than outside experiencing real life, they may not understand that the real world doesn't work like that. You can't hit the reset button and make it all go away.
  I do think that they should be held responsible for what they did, but I don't think an adult prison is where they would be held. It seems more fair for them to be held some place where they can get an education, have their mental issues treated and learn how to be responsible for themselves. Perhaps after some time they may be able to go back into society and become contributing members of it.
  It's a bad situation. I feel sad that I live in a society where things like this happen.....