November 7, 2007
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Playing With Matches
A 10-year-old boy accidentally started a fire in California that led to 21 homes being destroyed and injuring at least three people.
He was playing with matches. He can face “millions of dollars in fines, removal from his home and possible detention as a ward of the state.” Here is the link: Link
Do you think a 10-year old boy should be held responsible for starting a fire?
Comments (172)
Absolutely.
Maybe.
yeah, he should.
depends on his intent
ten is old enough to know not to play with fuckin matches unless you intend to burn shit up.
If he started a fire then I guess he’s the one….responsible..for..starting..the fire? Sounds right to me.
“I know I was driving 150mph on the interstate but my INTENT wasn’t to kill that person….”
“Well, you still killed him and you’re still going to jail.”
Sorry kiddo.
YES! He knows right from wrong!
i bet that kid is gonna be effed up for a looooong time.
How many people never tried burning things in the back yard? I know a lot of children who played with matches at some time in their young lives. He should have been better supervised! and in this case, I’m sorry, but intent has a lot to do with it, no 10 year old boy should be punished so severely for what amounts to a horrible accident.
yes because everyone knows you don’t play with matches…especially during a drought
Yeah, I think so.
10 years old and his life is over because of his “carelessness”. The article doesn’t exactly state how he started the fire. It only talks about carelessness on his part, which means to me that he didn’t intend to start a major fire that would destroy property. But in our society of today no one is allowed to make mistakes not even a 10 year old.
Most kids play with matches at some point. He’s old enough to be punished for playing with matches and starting a fire, but too young to be held responsible for the fallout. A ten-year-old does not think about consequences. Fining him millions of dollars and removing him from his family is too extreme.
Yes. But DEFINITELY not as harsh as they are saying. He’s 10; he couldn’t have imagined something like this happening. It was an accident, and should be judged accordingly.
When I was 10, I was able to understand things like “If you start a fire, it can get away from you and burn down forests, houses, etc…” 10 is certainly old enough to know right from wrong and understand the consequences of your actions.
Maybe I’m being too soft, but “millions of dollars in fines, removal from his home and possible detention as a ward of the state” sounds very extreme for a 10 year old boy. Boys misbehave all the time. I agree with the article when it said, “Boys know lots of things are wrong – from ignoring bedtimes to eating too many cookies. A better standard, some argue, would be determining whether the boy, at 10, had any way of knowing the consequences of what he was doing with those matches.” Of course he should be punished, but if you caught your 10 year old child playing with matches would you ground him or turn him over to the state?
Play with fire, and you’re gonna get BURNED.
Too bad kid.
10 is pretty young. There ought to be some consequences, but how will he ever pay millions in fines? And ending up a ward of the state is too harsh. The punishment needs to be realistic for a 10 year old.
yes.
I knew it was wrong to play with matches around the age of 5. So why is this kid at the age of 10 playing around with dangerous stuff?? This is a tough call…glad I am not in charge.
it’s a case in Tort. according to tort law, age doesn’t negate intent… sorry kid!
No, this is too harsh. This is terrible. The kid did a really DUMB thing and he should have known better, but sometimes kids that age just don’t think! I have an almost 10-year old boy and sometimes it is like he has lost his brain. He is smart academically, but sometimes their curiosity gets the better of them.
I remember being that age and just for fun, I drilled a hole in my brothers’ bathroom just to peek with my friends who came over. I got into SO much trouble, but it is just that sometimes we just don’t think of the consequences.
of course! He’s related to Al-Qaeda!!!
He is just a kid and can not be held to the same level of responsibility as an adult. He is just 10 years old and it is very easy to start a fire in two foot tall dry grass.
All you people who are so into vengeance, that you would ruin a 10 year olds life over this, you amaze me. He should be punished yes, but to treat him as if he were an adult arsonist, that is just cruelty and in not way even resembles justice.
if he was playing with matches was it an accident?
I think your question leans toward you view that it was an accident cause he was young, sometimes people – even kids – make dumb mistakes, do dumb things – but there are still consequences. Maybe that should be lightened because of his age – but I think the kid should surely be punished.
Daniel (doubledb)
How do you hold a 10 year old boy responsible for burning 21 homes. I’m not sure it is something that can be done. You could punish the parents, but keeping this kid from going to college so he can pay reparations for the rest of his life…. come on!
He should be given some sort of punishment appropriate for a 10-year old.
if they want to do that… then why not prosecute the parents that didn’t watch their kid? there should be a limit despite teh devastating consequence of his actions
Tort? sorry were talking criminal law here, not another why for damn lawyers to line their pockets.
You can’t file a civil suit against a minor. You would need to go after his parents
i agree that there should be consequences for the boy, but the punishment shoulnd’t be as harsh as this!
How do they expect the kid to pay millions of dollars in fines?
yes. but not near that severe. he’ll be paying that off for the rest of his life. and just because he was playing with matches, doesn’t mean he should be taken from his parents! i am sure they could come up with a much better punishment that he would remember…not destroy his life.
Held responsible? Yes.
But given the circumstances I think the punish ments you mention are rather excessive.
He should receive some sort of punishment, but I wouldn’t want to be that prosecutor. Unless he seemed to be a pyromaniac, I don’t think I’d prosecute him as an adult — just throw him in juvie for a while and have him meet some of the victims. Perhaps I’d make him do community service as well. If his own house burned down, I’d leave it at that.
yeah he should and so his parents who were dumb enough to let him or have not taught him already. he’s ten! besides if a human that age can try as an adult for murder then, yeah.
**so SHOULD his parents…
ooops.
No, but his Democratic congressman should be held accountable…….
You ask why the congressman? Well they didn’t have laws asking for “MATCHLOCKS”, I mean if there had been a Federal law limiting this child’s access to matches we wouldn’t be facing this difficult decision! I say hold the bastards accountable that didn’t regulate our lives enough, we NEED more protection on the Federal level. It is for the Children Afterall…………..
Punished? Absolutely. But held entirely responsible? No way… he is too young, he couldn’t have had the foresight to imagine the scope of damage he could do playing with matches. I’m sure the guilt has taught him quite a bit. It’s not just to punish a child the way you would punish and adult.
Since I have an 11 year old son I know my son knows right from wrong but what he doesn’t do and think of, as most children, is think of a bigger picture. This boy may have been told playing with matches starts fires and he sees and knows that but what he doesn’t know about… weather conditions, dry vegatation and more all contributing factors to quick overpowering fire.
I do believe he should be held responsible but I don’t think cruel harsh punishment is in order.
Absolutely he should go to juvi until he’s 18. But where were his parents? They should be held accountable for the damages. Just like when your kid breaks the neighbors window.
Sure glad it wasn’t my kid.
I forgot to write I think his parents should bear concequences also.
There should be consequences, but those mentioned are not appropriate for a 10 year old. This should be handled in juvenile court, not adult court. Perhaps supervision by the juvenile court, many, many hours community service working with homeless families and fire cleanup/environmental restoration, and victim-witness conferencing. When he becomes of legal age to work he could begin paying some restitution or perhaps have the amount that would be restitution donated to agencies such as the Red Cross that assist fire victims.
Some type of serious punishment, yes. Millions in fines, no. Taken from his parents, most likely not. His particular situation should be evaluated by impartial entities who could make a determination concerning things like his home life (honestly, not with trumped up “problems”), his character, whether or not he has been in trouble previously, etc. I’ve heard of kids murdering others and not getting the death penalty due to the fact that they were minors. The property damage was extensive, no doubt. However, intent surely must be demonstrated before such harsh measures are taken.
Yikes. I think that’s a hard one. I have no idea what my opinion is right now… I’m trying to think of any 10 year olds that I know that I could relate this to…
i like jberg134′s ideas as a means of bearing the consequences.
Yes, to an extent.
Oh yes, I also forgot about the parents. I haven’t read the article, so I don’t know anything about the parents, but they could probably use some classes in appropriate supervision and child development. Monetarily, some sort of compensation would be nice, but I can’t see millions in fines-it’s just not realistic for most people.
If it was really just an accident, then the kid doesn’t need such a harsh punishment. I know I played with fire tons of times as a kid, and I live in the middle of a forest. Its a wonder I didn’t start a forest fire.
I don’t know. It was an accident, but he probably knew what he was doing. Ten years old is old enough to know that you could have an accident when you play with something dangerous.
RYC: Oh, I have no doubt of that. It irritates me that the target group is playing right into it, though. Aren’t we more intelligent than that?
I should probably put up the next two emails that went back and forth.
He’s old enough to know better. Here in Michigan some teenagers were shooting off fireworks by the lakeshore. They accidentally started a fire that burned several million dollar homes. The judge found them liable for 6.6 million dollars in damages.
RYC: I’m very glad I didn’t send it. But since I still have the address, I’m considering screwing the thirty bucks and sending them something else. Something like a note that says exactly how I feel about people who scam like that.
No, I can’t help feeling terrible for the kid. A ten year old does know right from wrong, but his right from wrong consequences are like “If I got caught, mom’s gonna be really mad” Or “Oops I burned my finger.”, not “Oh, I burned down 21 homes, and it hurt a whole bunch of people.”
ok123LetsGO, how are those kids ever going to come up with $6.6 mil unless their families are rich anyway??
In the town I used to live in a 17 year old burned down a church. He was playing with a lighter around roofing material. Yes, he should have known better, but as is common with teenagers and pre-teens, what they intellectually know doesn’t always match their actions.
The case was kept in juvenile court where restitution was limited to $1000 under state statute. This young man was also placed in a group treatment setting to address the issues that led to the offending behavior. Victum-offender conferencing was also offered to church members.
This is an example of appropriate, realistic, consequences that addressed both the offense and what led to the offense.
No.
To arrive at that conclusion I look at the intent. Even if a 10 year old tortured animals I wouldn’t question their intent. They don’t even know.
Fire!
Fire is exciting. You can control it? But really you can’t. It’s wrong. They told you never to touch it. You can make it, and you can put it out. Watch it consume the things you put before it.
It IS exciting! But a 10 year old really can’t understand the bad consequences of attempting to control something can’t be controlled.
Held accountable, yes. Taken away from his family, no.
He should be punished. The extent of that punishment? I don’t know.
Oh man… That’s a hard one… where did he get the matches?
There should be some consequenses, but what… I am glad I’m not the one who has to deciede
Does he have a criminal history? Was there intent to burn down all of those houses? Will the outcome of imprisoning the lad be that he is punished fairly for his crime or will it be that he will be entered into a downward spiral from which he may never recover because at the age of ten he was responsible for causing an incredible tragedy?
I am thankful I am not responsible for deciding this poor kid’s fate; but mostly I pray that it is handled delicately with more than just “punishment” taken into account.
where the hell were his parents, hell when i was 8 my parents took me upstairs and showed me the guns, and taught me to respect them.
Why cant we just let Darwin do his damn job?
I think whatever punishment he gets should be mitigated because of his age, but as ravnr points out, age does not negate intent, so I think he can be prosecuted. That kid really let himself in for a world of hurt, but you know, people died in that fire. He should feel some consequences, but they should be consequences appropriate to his age/experiences. I’m sure the kid feels terrible.
off with his head.
seriously? he’s 10!
My 4 year old brother knows better than to do something that stupid.
Yes, 10 years old is old enough to at least grab the basic concept of the difference between right and wrong. And I do agree that most kids do experiment in their backyard with matches..and generally they get caught and punished..at least that’s what I remember from when I was a kid.
juvy yes
fining, no
I’m glad most of these commentors weren’t MY parents.
One of my favorite books on parenting says that you have to distinguish between the three D’s (outright defiance, disobedience, or dishonesty) and childish irresponsibility. The first category calls for a more severe punishment. Certainly, part of the deal here with this kid was childish irresponsibility. He should be punished appropriately, but I hardly think we’d be willing to ruin the life of every kid who played with matches.
if he burns something small it’s probably okay.
but it’s something massive, peopel lost their homes.
no
poor kid…
thats rough… i duno…
who hasnt played with matches??
the only punishment that would be perfect is to roast him at the stake
Yeah, that kid should be punished. He should know right from wrong. Playing with matches might cause a big fire.
But anyways, I think the parents should be fined, not him. I mean, where were they when he was playing with the matches? Why did they keep them in a place where he could get at them? And another thing, why is it sounding like he is an adult who started the fire on purpose? Obviously he didn’t do it on purpose. So really, he should have a lighter punishment, as he’s not an adult yet and still considered a child in the eyes of the government.
I think you’re old enough at ten to know what you’re doing when you light a match. And if you don’t, then your parents failed at raising you correctly.
Smokey the Bear is going to kick his ass.
no. there is people who murder other people as minors and get no jail time. i honestly think that a fire is not as bad as murders. if he intentionally set it than yes. but it was just an accident its better to send him to some responsibility classes and things and let him be.
i think his parents should take part of the responsibility for not taking care of the child and indirectly creates this mess.
Ohhh yeaahh.
yes, but he is still a kid. they should be a bit less harsh on him.
I think its sad that he will be held responsible for a mistake made as a child for the rest of his life. I think thats a little too harsh. I think community service and a help so that he understood his mistake would be better than the jail time and fines. But then again, what do I know?
He did cause alot of damage. And injured people.
All of these people who want to punish the parents obviously do not have children of their own. You can’t keep an eagle eye on them 24 hours a day. The second you go into the bathroom, or answer the phone, or go out to the mailbox, or into the laundry room they grab the chance to get into mischief. If I understand correctly, the boy confessed to his parents and the parents immediately notified authorities – good, responsible behavior. And for the record, while there were fire related deaths in California, there were no deaths in this particular fire.
I would say something needs to be done, as most people in dry areas of California are educated early on about wildfires and fire prevention. It really depends on what the circumstances are I’d say. If, for example, some kid was smoking a cigarette he stole from mother’s purse and tossed the butt into some brush and *WHOOSH* destruction, then yes he needs more severe reprehension. But it could’ve been merely child curiosity , which tons of children get in trouble for and happens on a daily basis, just not on that large of a scale. Or on the other hand it could’ve been intentional, in which case him and his parents needs some stern consequences.*shrugs* Circumstances my dear Watson, circumstances.
no
punishment, yes. i also think it sounds like it could be an accident. that punishment sounds extreme, where is a little boy gonna get millions of dollars from? thats just silly
Heck no! Certainly not at that level of liability, anyway. The idea of fining a ten year old boy millions of dollars is more than absurd. He knew he shouldn’t be playing with fire, but he could have no comprehension of the extent to which it might damage property and lives.
Actually, I say no, but I do think he should be punished. Not in any sort of extreme way, but community service of some sort would be beneficial. Punishment should right wrongs, not create bigger ones.
Ten is old enough that he should know not to play with matches but taking him away from his family and fining him millions of dollars is completely absurd.
There is no question that the boy is responsible.
Punishing him may send out a message of warning, but to think that most other ten year olds that play with matches are mature enough to understand that it could happen to anyone is ridiculous. Punishing him with millions of dollars in fines (a number which he has not even encountered in life most likely,) removing him from his home and possibly sending him to prison will do absolutely nothing but ruin his life, an I mean that.
The knowledge of his wrongdoing will be enough to probably make him afraid to ever light a match again.
To punish him as an adult arsonist is wrong.
To give him limited consequence is right, in my opinion.
there should be consequences, but where were the parents? they should be punished as well, and it’s ludicrous to punish a 10 year old with milions of dollars in fines.
Nor is it necessarily the fault of the parents. It is impossible to make a child-proof home and to watch a child twenty four-seven. He could have found a bow of matches coming home from school and not told his parents.
Yes, but what a lesson to be learned at such a young age. I have a question..where were his parents when he was playing with the matches?
*box of matches, not bow
he should get in trouble, certainly. But he is just a kid, it wasn’t intentional… he shouldn’t get in THAT much trouble.
Yes, but what a lesson to be learned at such a young age. I have a
question..where were his parents when he was playing with the matches?
-MyOrganizedMess
Like it has been stated, it is impossible to watch your children 24-7.
When to hold people responsible for what they do….. that’s the question isn’t it?
Yes, he should be punished, but not that harshly. Millions of dollars in fines? c’mon now!
And also, I agree with saintvi, parents can’t keep an eye on their children every minute of every damn day. what do these people expect? good grief!
by 10 years old, you should know not to play with matches already. but the punishment still sounds really harsh and extreme for someone his age.
So, then if they don’t punish him or whatever, then what are they going to do? Call it a natural disaster?
Yeah removed from his house and made a ward of the state…and later in life become a serial arsonist of epic proportions….let his family deal with him now…and save us all the grief later…
Considering how big of a disaster it led to… I’m leaning more towards yes. Perhaps his parents too? Yeah he’s a kid, and parents can’t be monitoring their children 100% of the time… but how do just let someone go for something so huge? Even if it was an accident?
If he started it, then by all means.
My questions is “Where are the parents?”
Yes
I do think he should be held responsible but I also think a certain amount of grace should be shown in light of his age and inherrent lack of experience. Pete
my heart breaks for his Mom….
I hope they can come thru this horrible event
Accidental?
Well, every child makes mistakes.
And his was huge, yes, but “fined millions of dollars”?
He didn’t mean to.
I’m sure he has that knot in his stomach.
10 year olds should know not to play with matches. He should be punished, but not through those extremes. It’s not like he did it on purpose. He doesn’t have the money to pay those fines and should not be taken away from his home. It’s his parents who will have to be liable for those things, even if it’s not their fault, but they weren’t watching him…
I was reading through the answers and most people seem to hold the kid responsible… I have to question though – Where were the parents?
He should be held responsible to a CERTAIN extent.. but gosh, those punishments are extreme for a 10 year old. Sure he causes thousands of people harm, but did he know that this would happen? No. Doesn’t cali have any underage protection laws or something?
Absurd.
**Caused
Only if they can prove it wasn’t an accident or gross negligence. His parents should also be responsible if there was negligence on their part.
Hmm, wouldn’t it become useless to punish a little child? He knows nothing and the only thing he knows is playing around. If playing with matches has caused such trouble and terrible acident, I think parents should be responsible. They should’ve watched their kid. What the kid plays and with who the kid plays.
he shoud be held responsible. everyone agrees.
but isn’t the debate what extent of responsibility he has? and the definition of responsibility?
Last time I checked, there are thousands of families affected from that California fire. They are the victims. What about the many children in the families who needs the concern and care? My focus is on them.
The 10-year-old boy did something atrocious. I’d rather he suffer a life-long sentence to re-paying the families through community service and restitution. I’d give him a chance at life to gain some brains, make some money to pay his immense debt he owe to the families. and most importantly, appreciate life.
Yes, but not punish him to that extreme. I doubt he was going “Oh, I wanna burn the entire freaking California state!”. It was a childish accident, made by a child.
Held responsible, yes. I don’t know how they’re going to get a 10-year-old kid to pay millions of dollars though. I don’t think he should be taken away from his parents for a long time. He was being dumb, but he didn’t mean for this to happen. It was an accident.
if you’re old enough to know it’s wrong, you’re old enough to be punished for doing it. might as well thank the parents for their close watch on him too.
Where were his parents?
I don’t think this one can be answered that simply. You would first have to find out the child’s intentions, figure out what kind of parenting has been going on. Many children play with matches out of curiosity, while it isn’t safe, simply put they do. I think most definitely the parents should be responsible (someone has to be) for the damages, along with apologies and whatever else goes along with something like this. The child, if sincerely meant no harm to people or property, but was just curious, should be made to know that what happened was serious, and should, at the very least, serve the community in some type of way. But to be taken away from his family, might very well serve against him, and would suffer greater psychological damage, then the realization of what he’d actually done. If the child intentionally meant harm to people or property, then yes, should be taken from the home, and undergo rehabilitation. If the parents are at fault because of bad parenting or lack thereof, then the parents should be reprimanded in some way, along with monetary costs. Hope all that made sense.
I’m going with yes – but it isn’t my kid.
No.
He should be punished by being put on parole and doing community service–yes, even at 10 years old–he could learn something from that. And his parents ought to be fined…where the hell were they when he started that fire? Parental supervision doesn’t exist anymore, I guess.
At 10 he’s in 4th grade, he probably hasn’t even learned what a “fraction” is. He’s never heard of the periodic table of elements. He couldn’t tell you chemical reactions involved with a fire. And he Obviously doesn’t know that the Los Angeles county fire department is terrible. Punishments? Sure. We’re talking severe ones like, no ice cream for a month. No new video games for a year. And birthday party at McDonald’s??? Sorry kiddo, you blew it.
NO.. his parents should
only if it was intentional. either way, his parents should be punished for being stupid enough to let him play with matches.
That picture reminds me of a canteloupe. Hmm…
There were also 40 people that were killed because of that fire. Yes. That boy should be punished for life. If he had enough sense to strike a match, then he should have enough sense to know that when you do crime, you must the time, and thats the bottom line.
he should be punished for playing with fire in the first place but not to that extent. he already has to live with the guilt for the rest of his life and im sure he already feels scared and probably even sorry for what he did…
Gosh a 10 year old? There needs to be some level of punishment, but do we need to make sure his life is forever ruined? He is young enough to grow up a good adult still? Can we one day forgive?
I played with fire too, I was just lucky nothing bad ever happened. Parents don’t watch kids 24/7, at times they let us go off and play, remember that? Or were you locked in the tower?
Seriously people.. If you’re going to fine this kid a million dollars, and throw him in jail, you might aswell just put a bullet in his head.
He’s going to be fucked up for the rest of his life with depression becuase of this shit already, do we want to take a poll to see if he’s going to commit suicide later on becuase he spent his years of age from 10 to 20 in jail? I don’t know what the laws in cali are, but here arson is a felony. Some of you need to rethink what you’re saying.
If anything I believe the parents should be held responsible for poor supervision.
heshould be tried as a juvinille… becuz he is one-and his punishment should match
Hmmm, kind of hard. He should know better than to play with matches but really it falls back onto his parents. THEY are ultimately responsible.
Yes and No – He needs to be held responsible for what one would expect out of a 10 year old. The discipline should not destroy his life.
well yes he should. But still where are the parents they should be stoping this
Yes, Smokey the Bear warned him damnit!
I think he should be punished, but honestly I am not sure how. I would say at the minimum he should be required to do community service for a very very long time. Maybe he could work in a National Park or something along those lines. He certainly needs to go to A LOT of fire prevention courses.
the only punishment that he should really face is probably just a slap on the wrist.
he’s only 10. my brother’s 10, and does stupid stuff all the time. but if my mom grounds him, he doesn’t do it again.
i don’t think a 10 year old should be fined, that’s just dumb.
geez…anybody here actually have a 10 year old?
“fines, locked away, taken from parents”…right, that makes sense…
My son is almost 8- and he DEFINATELY knows right from wrong….But he doesnt always understand the consequences of his actions.
All those fines, and the removal of this child from his home seems way too extreme for a child his age. They need to put him in some counseling FIRST and figure out his intent before they decide to ruin his life. I’m not saying that he shouldnt have to face the consequences, but they ought to be more suited to his age.
The parent’s should be held responsible for not watching him.
I grew up in San Diego and I can remember playing w/ matches and starting little fires. I am thankful the santa ana winds were not blowing on those particular days. No, I do not think so, that was not his intent and he is only 10. Sheila
I’ll say community service to teach him a lesson. People do make mistake and I bet he was traumatized by it.
It was an accident; a mistake. Little boys like to play with fire. There have been other kids who burnt something while playing with matches. It’s not the kid’s fault that the fire got out of control and it’s not the kid’s fault that red tape wouldn’t allow some of the hellilcopters and firetrucks to help stop the fire. Maybe he could be required to do some replanting of trees or something.
where was his parents?
Yeah, well, his parents at least- he should have been taught not to play with matches.
Jail? Probably not.
if it was an honest mistake, and not an arson attempt then why punish him for spilled milk? It’s not that the effect isn’t horrible, but an accident is just that. He shouldn’t be held responsible for making a mistake, he’s 10.
his parents should be punished for being stupid enough to let him play with matches.
That is ridiculous. 1. it seems pretty common sense that his parents probably weren’t sitting there watching him play with matches. 2. Kids experiment with lots of things, you don’t even know where he got the matches to being with. 3. And even if he did find them in the house (we have matches and lighters in the house) parent’s should not be held responsible for every little mess up their children do, you don’t know his parents from Adam.
He should get the electric chair.
A 10 yr old is old enough to know right from wrong, unless the parents aren’t doing their job. The punishment is ridiculous though. Make him ward of the state? How stupid is that?
YES
I don’t think the kid should be held responsible. The entire American West is basically a tender-box due to a number of factors, most notably about a century of failed wildfire policy. A fire like this would’ve happened sooner or later, whether the kid was playing with matches or not.
Wow, that sounds incredibly harsh for a kid that was unfortunately doing the wrong thing in the WRONG place. Why should he be taken out of his home? I don’t see the logic in that. I say give him a ton of community service, preferably related to helping with the devastation after the fire. That’ll teach him never to play with matches ever again.
Besides, each of the punishments above would punish the parents as much if not more than the child (who’s gonna pay those millions of dollars in fines??). It’s not their fault their kid was doing something that many many other children do with little consequence. I remember my brother spending hours in the backyard burning holes in his GI Joes with a magnifying glass.
That’s amazing, because in some states, he could have killed someone, with the intent, and had less of a punishment. I think this is a situation where the parents are responsible for the kid, too. Not that the parents should be punished and the kids get off scott free, but I think they both have a degree of responsibility.
PS– onto a bigger subject, and this is something hubby and I have talked about a lot having lived in CA for a few years, it also seems kinda f’ed up to set up a situation where you have all this dry kindling right next to people’s houses, you don’t clear it out like you should, you don’t do small controlled burns to lessen the chance of big fires, basically you have it set up so that everything will go up in huge flames from time to time, and no one gets punished for that.
If someone were to douse a house in gasoline, and then someone happened to come by and light a match for their cigarette and start a fire, why does the guy with the match get all the blame and the person who left out the gasoline gets no blame? Isn;t that kinda wrong?
yes!
Sure, but I don’t think he should be removed from his home. Not for something that may very well have been an accident. We all played with matches at his age. I don’t think any one of us realized the damage we could do if things got out of hand.
It IS his fault, he was holding and playing with the matches. Where was this kid’s parents??? honestly, wtf?
Moving him away from his family and putting him into a detention center IS a bit extreme, but he does definately need to be punished, he burtn down 21 houses and injured 3 people! goodness!
This reminds me of those two 10 year olds back in like, ’92 or ’93 that tortured that little boy and killed him……although this little boy did nothing on purpose….just reminds me of that story cuz the boy was 10 and he did something so horrible at such a young age….
There’s a difference between being held responsible and being crucified! What will taking this boy off his parents prove? An accident is an accident, that doesn’t mean you have to uproot his whole life. Maybe put him on house arrest or something.
He is responsible for starting the fire… so yes, he probably should be held responsible for starting the fire.
He definitely should not have been playing with matches. But you still can’t hold him up to adult penalties. Millions of dollars in fines? Being taken away from his family? That’s way overboard. It’s not like he could have realized what he was going to cause. They should make him spend time (with his parents) with the families who lost their homes; make him help clean up the damage and restore things. That’d be enough of a lesson for any normal 10 year old, I’d say.
Sad, that playing with matches would ruin his whole life. I think he should face punishment, but only because there’s no other satisfactory solution to the problem. And I don’t think he should face millions of dollars of fines.
Oh please, ten is not young. He should be responsible.
A 10 year old does not have the required judgement capacity to know what could happen if he plays with matches. Are you going to do that to another child who plays with matches, but doesn’t catch anything on fire?
Where were his parents?
I think he should. Ten – too old to not know not to play with matches!
He needs to be punished in a way that will make a lasting impression, but throwing the maximum at him is not the way to do it. I’m sure the courts will fine an another solution.
a 10 year old should know better to not play with matches. I think it is extreme to take him from his home though. His parents or caregivers were very negligent in not stressing that matches are dangerous and are not toys. Maybe community service helping to clean up from the fire and a fire safety course that he and his parents be required to attend.
Of course he should be held responsible in some way, but being removed from his home and having millions of dollars in fines years before he is even old enough to get a job? It seems like too harsh. It was an accident, and he was too young to really know what he was doing.
he’s ten. seriously do you think he did it on purpose? He wasn’t sitting there thinking ‘hmm how many lives can I destroy today?’ for god’s sake he’s ten! Yeah he definitely needs his ass beat. I’m sure he feels bad enough already knowing that he destroyed so many homes and hurt people. California is a time bomb anyway. If not him it could have been anything. There is no sense in ruining a little boy’s record over an accident. If he is charged it will ruin his chances at everything. No schools will want him, No college will accept him, People will look down on him, and One little mistake will follow him for the rest of his life or until they decide to clear his record.
He should be punished, but he should not be treated like he’s an adult. Kids are stupid. He had no idea what he was dealing with.
If anyone is to be held responsible it should be his parents for not paying attention to him… This kid needs some serious therapy
Okay, imagine this.
Some 10-year-old kid finds some matches. He’s naive enough to not realize exactly what will happen if they light aflame all of San Diego. He’s only 10! So he lights the matches, and he’s having fun, I mean, he’s 10, he has to experiment with things, its part of growing up. And then it gets out of control. He can’t stop the fire by now, and he’s confused.
A month later he has Arnold Schwarzenegger and the rest of the California on his back for something he unintentionally started, and couldn’t stop.
Poor kid.
I think he should be punished but…hes 10yrs old! We do stupid stuff as adults, and we ask for mercy,he should not be taken away from his parents. He needs them, he will be screwed up if he goes to jail!
He should be found guilty if he is, then his parents should be fined some amount that hurts a whole lot. And that should be the end of it.
> 10 yrs old knows better, or shoulda/oughta, unless the parents are complete dipsticks…. Responsible is responsible, but how in the name of J.C. do they think they’re gonna ever collect the money? Dumb is dumb!… Shoot the kid to end his suffering, for God’s sake… But then again, nobody ever accused the civil servants in question of being espescially bright…. Dumb is dumb!!
Peace