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<blockquote data-quote="witzend" data-source="post: 262048" data-attributes="member: 99"><p>I hope that as time goes on, and we gain more knowledge, that each case will be judged on it's own merits at parole hearings. I hate to think that we can't rehabilitate a child, but the plain and simple fact is that society walks away from wounded and abused children every day and there are going to be dire consequences for children when that happens. Just as sometimes a magic elixir turns a somewhat bright child into a hero or a shaper of mankind, sometimes an equally but dark magic elixir sometimes turns a somewhat dull young child into a person who may never recover.</p><p></p><p>In 1996 an 11 year old boy, Ray, set a fire, killing three adults and eight children. Ray had the mental abilities of a 6 year old. His father bashed his head in when he was 2. Dad had been in and out of prison and lived on returned bottles and welfare, often got his friends to give him drugs by playing "shooting gallery" with Ray. Dad and his friends would smoke dope on the sofa, and Ray would run back and forth across the room in front of them and they would take shots at him with a BB gun. They laughed and thought it was like a Daffy Duck cartoon. This went on from the time Ray was 6. They lived in a largely Hispanic community, and Dad was a bigot who railed against the Hispanics. Ray had been caught setting fires on a number of occasions, missed school often, and carried a knife which he was known to use on other children. He had also physically assaulted other children, which his parents found amusing. It wasn't a surprise when in the middle of the night Ray lit a fire at the bottom of a stairwell blocking the exit to four of those families. Parents threw children out of windows. There were no working smoke detectors. It was horrific.</p><p></p><p>Initially, he was convicted as an adult of felony murder. That conviction was overturned in 2001, leaving 8 convictions of negligent homicide. "<span style="font-family: 'Garamond'">During his incarceration in the XXX Youth Corrections Facility, Ray has shown progress, not caused trouble, and is well liked." </span>He is beginning to transition back into society. He will probably be released when he turns 25 years old - next year.</p><p></p><p>I think it is right that Ray gets out of detention. I think he is as much a victim of that fire as anyone else who was there. I hope that he has had the opportunity to learn more about being a compassionate person. What an awful thing for that it wasn't until he had done such a terrible thing that he got some help. </p><p></p><p>All that being said? I don't think anyone will want him living near their home. It's just a sad situation all the way around, and it goes to show (in my humble opinion) that we need to take care of at risk children long before they become so damaged by their surroundings. We can't keep walking away from troubled families and saying "it's none of our business."</p><p></p><p>by the way, despite all of the troubles that Ray was having at home and in his community prior to the fire, no one had seemed to notice that his dad was an escaped felon. He was returned to an out of state prison after everyone started looking into the situation.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="witzend, post: 262048, member: 99"] I hope that as time goes on, and we gain more knowledge, that each case will be judged on it's own merits at parole hearings. I hate to think that we can't rehabilitate a child, but the plain and simple fact is that society walks away from wounded and abused children every day and there are going to be dire consequences for children when that happens. Just as sometimes a magic elixir turns a somewhat bright child into a hero or a shaper of mankind, sometimes an equally but dark magic elixir sometimes turns a somewhat dull young child into a person who may never recover. In 1996 an 11 year old boy, Ray, set a fire, killing three adults and eight children. Ray had the mental abilities of a 6 year old. His father bashed his head in when he was 2. Dad had been in and out of prison and lived on returned bottles and welfare, often got his friends to give him drugs by playing "shooting gallery" with Ray. Dad and his friends would smoke dope on the sofa, and Ray would run back and forth across the room in front of them and they would take shots at him with a BB gun. They laughed and thought it was like a Daffy Duck cartoon. This went on from the time Ray was 6. They lived in a largely Hispanic community, and Dad was a bigot who railed against the Hispanics. Ray had been caught setting fires on a number of occasions, missed school often, and carried a knife which he was known to use on other children. He had also physically assaulted other children, which his parents found amusing. It wasn't a surprise when in the middle of the night Ray lit a fire at the bottom of a stairwell blocking the exit to four of those families. Parents threw children out of windows. There were no working smoke detectors. It was horrific. Initially, he was convicted as an adult of felony murder. That conviction was overturned in 2001, leaving 8 convictions of negligent homicide. "[FONT=Garamond]During his incarceration in the XXX Youth Corrections Facility, Ray has shown progress, not caused trouble, and is well liked." [/FONT]He is beginning to transition back into society. He will probably be released when he turns 25 years old - next year. I think it is right that Ray gets out of detention. I think he is as much a victim of that fire as anyone else who was there. I hope that he has had the opportunity to learn more about being a compassionate person. What an awful thing for that it wasn't until he had done such a terrible thing that he got some help. All that being said? I don't think anyone will want him living near their home. It's just a sad situation all the way around, and it goes to show (in my humble opinion) that we need to take care of at risk children long before they become so damaged by their surroundings. We can't keep walking away from troubled families and saying "it's none of our business." by the way, despite all of the troubles that Ray was having at home and in his community prior to the fire, no one had seemed to notice that his dad was an escaped felon. He was returned to an out of state prison after everyone started looking into the situation. [/QUOTE]
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