Saturday, 07 November 2009
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Life in Prison for Rape When the Boy Was 13
I was just reading an article about whether it was cruel and unusual punishment to give a life sentence to a juvenile that committed an adult crime.
The Supreme Court will be hearing a case on the issue.
In the article, a story was told about a guy named Joe Sullivan. He was sentence to life in prison for raping an elderly woman. He was 13 when he raped the elderly woman. Here is the link: Link
Is it cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a 13-year-old to life in prison for a rape?
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Comments (129)
I hear the term, "If they can commit an adult crime, they should be treated like adults."
But they're NOT adults. Plain and simple.
I think it's too much. The boy needs help. Not a jail sentence.
If it's not cruel, it certainly is unusual.
Life? 13-year old? I'm honestly not too sure what I think there. I'm assuming he knew what he was doing and knew that it was wrong. It's such a young age though...life in prison does seem a little harsh. But rape is rape is rape...and it should punished to the fullest extent...even if he is 13.
Who hasn't thought about raping their grandmother at one point in their life?
Deserved. Thirteen-year-olds can think for themselves. He needs to be executed.
if he raped an elderly woman when he was 13... he definitely deserves it.
I'm sure he had an idea of what he was doing.
My rapist was thirteen and nothing was done about it. Life in prison is a bit extreame. Aren't there lesser punishments out there. Maybe he knew better, but remember he's only 13, not 23.
he needs help
I have mixed emotions on this, perhaps the decision has to do with the individual.
Puberty hit that dude hard
No it is not.
wow, life sentence. but then, it was rape.
i don't know...
Wow, 13?
Tough one. I read the article, but I am still unsure.
He's not an adult. Life is too harsh. Yes, what he did was awful, however he may regret it in retrospect. He is not an adult in the eyes of the law for any other crime, but I don't think juvenile detention would be a proper solution either. After eight years of being in there, he may still have no remorse (not saying he doesn't have any now) or sense of consequence at this point. Perhaps a combination of juvie and parole with counseling would be beneficial...
usually when they start out doing things like that while they're young, they're bound to repeat something similar. and i'm extremely against rape, so really, i don't feel horribly bad. but considering just how long this person has to stay in there having only started at 13 years old, it is maybe too extreme. i don't know.
I think all rapists should be put away for life. If you can do it once, you can do it again.
Um, no! Unless it was an accident (and I don't see how that's possible), he deserves to feel the real deal. That way he'll know to never do it again. But he should be in jail for a shorter period of time. 10 years or something.
it seems to me that if he raped an elderly woman, there was some sort of malicious intent or something like that. but i still don't think he deserves a life sentence. he probably just needs help.
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. The emotional distress that he caused the elderly lady will be with her for the rest of her life. As far as I am concerned the punk deserved everything he got and that is one less scumbag off the street.
It is cruel and unusual for a 13-year-old boy to rape an elderly woman. He deserves to be jailed because kids these days are underestimated and I am sure he knew what he was doing. That is sick. Unless he was mentally unstable, then no, it would be cruel and unusual to let him run free.
13 years old? what is the world coming to.
Adult crime SHOULD get adult punishment. Actually, the punishment aspect is almost a moot point. At 13, he proved without a shadow of a doubt that he's dangerous on the loose in society so he either needs confinement or death or some other means of keeping him from being dangerous to others.
You know if I look at this emotionally I would yell yes, he raped an old lady and ??? There is not enough information here and any rape is wrong. Rapists all deserve sterner sentences than they usually get. Did the woman die? I just think that this kid could have been handled differently, a stern sentence yes, but not life. As I said there is not enough information here on this case.
rape is rape.
put him away.