Parent found guilty for sons murders

[SomeOtherGuy]

It's obvious that many here are going just from the headline and don't know the basic facts of the case. This was an egregious and awful case. The verdict does set a bad precedent, but on the facts here it does not offend me.

Short, short version: parents who weren't awesome had a kid with obvious mental health troubles. Maybe within normal teen range, but definitely troubled. They got him his own pistol as a present and mom took him shooting. They took no care whatsoever to keep track of that pistol, keep it locked up, etc.

But worse than that, troubled teen had made threats and both kid and parents were called into a school meeting to discuss his issues and a treatment plan. Parents basically denied everything, treated it as nothing, and most importantly, they didn't bother to check whether that pistol was at home and safe. Surprise, it was actually in teen's backpack. School also failed here, but parents were a big failure because they literally supplied the pistol and failed to take any care about its location, even after hearing from the school concerns about their kid. Later that same day, kid murders fellow classmates.

I'm sure some people would say that the parents should be responsible in all cases, and I don't agree with that. But this isn't a situation where an otherwise good kid suddenly turned scary, nor is it a situation where the kid managed to break into some appropriate storage and steal a gun. A known troubled kid was given a gun and parents didn't monitor that. This is an extreme case.

So, if a scum gang banger kills your spouse, can you get their shit head parents jailed for being shitty parents and enabling them?

Good for the goose, good for the gander. It will be an uphill fight given the far-left cities where that stuff usually happens, but it's worth trying, and those same cities have plenty of aggressive plaintiff lawyers as well.

[ChattanoogaPhil]

So, if a scum gang banger kills your spouse, can you get their shit head parents jailed for being shitty parents and enabling them?

Only if it's with a gun.

If this so-called troubled teen had grabbed a set of car keys that the parents 'carelessly didn't have locked in a safe', then used the parent's car to kill six people would we be having this conversation?

[chuckman]

If this so-called troubled teen had grabbed a set of car keys that the parents 'carelessly didn't have locked in a safe', then used the parent's car to kill six people would we be having this conversation?

That's false equivalence, but I get your point.

[ChattanoogaPhil]

That's false equivalence, but I get your point.

Are vehicles not considered deadly weapons when they are used as such?

My point was that society has been successful at demonizing guns. That's the reason we're having this discussion.

[chuckman]

Are vehicles not considered deadly weapons when they are used as such?

My point was that society has been successful at demonizing guns. That's the reason we're having this discussion.

So then...same with a baseball bat, same with a hammer, same with.... it's all a logical fallacy no matter how you slice it.

Like I said, I get your point, and I do not disagree.

[jsbhike]

Now do incidents like this:

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...s-17715972.php

[WillBrink]

It's obvious that many here are going just from the headline and don't know the basic facts of the case. This was an egregious and awful case. The verdict does set a bad precedent, but on the facts here it does not offend me.

Short, short version: parents who weren't awesome had a kid with obvious mental health troubles. Maybe within normal teen range, but definitely troubled. They got him his own pistol as a present and mom took him shooting. They took no care whatsoever to keep track of that pistol, keep it locked up, etc.

But worse than that, troubled teen had made threats and both kid and parents were called into a school meeting to discuss his issues and a treatment plan. Parents basically denied everything, treated it as nothing, and most importantly, they didn't bother to check whether that pistol was at home and safe. Surprise, it was actually in teen's backpack. School also failed here, but parents were a big failure because they literally supplied the pistol and failed to take any care about its location, even after hearing from the school concerns about their kid. Later that same day, kid murders fellow classmates.

I'm sure some people would say that the parents should be responsible in all cases, and I don't agree with that. But this isn't a situation where an otherwise good kid suddenly turned scary, nor is it a situation where the kid managed to break into some appropriate storage and steal a gun. A known troubled kid was given a gun and parents didn't monitor that. This is an extreme case.



Good for the goose, good for the gander. It will be an uphill fight given the far-left cities where that stuff usually happens, but it's worth trying, and those same cities have plenty of aggressive plaintiff lawyers as well.

My position exactly. This is a tough one, really pushes the boundaries of whether a parent has any legal responsibilities for the actions of their kids. Morally, the parents are garbage humans who never should have had kids. But, that's not uncommon either sadly.

[utahjeepr]

My position exactly. This is a tough one, really pushes the boundaries of whether a parent has any legal responsibilities for the actions of their kids. Morally, the parents are garbage humans who never should have had kids. But, that's not uncommon either sadly.

Agreed, POS parents can lead to some terrible offspring doing terrible things. If this type of standard was applied universally I might say "fair enough". These particular folks and the parents of thousands of other ferals could face the consequences of their negligence/malfeasance. This case reaks of predisposition and targeted prosecution though.

[jsbhike]

And here is another one where accountability would be good.

https://news.yahoo.com/virginia-cops...090031269.html

[SomeOtherGuy]

This case reaks of predisposition and targeted prosecution though.

If I could say something in defense of the parents I might agree. Waiting for the father's trial to see exactly how his defense looks; mom looked more guilty in the press I've seen so far. The facts of the case are really, really bad, and I think most prosecutors would have charged at least the mom and probably both parents.

One thing that bugs me is that the kid was known to be troubled based on his writings and reports of "voices," etc. That suggests mental illness, which often shows up around the teen years. Parents absolutely 100% should have paid attention to that. However, the shooter/teen has also been convicted of murder and is serving a near life sentence. If he was really mentally ill, that's not right. If he was NOT mentally ill, well that might change my view of the parents' guilt.

Agreed, POS parents can lead to some terrible offspring doing terrible things. If this type of standard was applied universally I might say "fair enough". These particular folks and the parents of thousands of other ferals could face the consequences of their negligence/malfeasance.

The problem is that "our side" largely believes in law, justice, and rules that apply to all. The "other side" is tribal, not purely by skin color (although often) but largely by willingness to say and do things that "our side" considers immoral or simply wrong. Because the other side is tribal, they don't need to have any moral standards. Because our side is based on morality and justice, we can't simply ignore crimes committed by people we would otherwise like to help.

The solution, of course, is to apply the rules to all and be equally hard on the tribal "other side" as on anyone else.