Life with no parole for minors? Wow, between this and the thread about the 16 year-old thief where that one clown said they should get executed in the streets, it's amazing to me who is calling who animals around here. I mean why stop at life with no parole? Why arent we suggesting that literally any criminal should just be executed regardless of age? Or that other thread where people are admiring fascist Countries who cut people's hands off if they steal.
F*ck all that "turning your life around" garbage.
The problem is our prisons make very little attempts at rehabilitating someone, and instead just become schools where criminals can hone their skills.
I myself was incarcerated for almost 3 years in a SoCal prison (Donovan). While they did have a little bit of what we called programming, the seats were very limited and there were long waiting lists to do something like carpentry or automotive mechanics.
And I truly believe that the best way we can rehabilitate someone is by giving them something else to do - such as trade skills or similar. The problem is that it seems that 90% of the people who are incarcerated and released, are released right back in to the same situation that landed them in prison in the first place. The only way they know how to support themselves is through crimes, so they almost always fall back on that because it's all they know. Not to mention since there is literally nothing to do all day, they can meet and brainstorm with other criminals to commit even more crimes once released. Couple all of that with how difficult it is to get employment with a felony on your record (or multiple) and prison just becomes a revolving door.
If you ask me, there certainly is a contingent of violent prisoners who are beyond rehabilitating. They should be executed IMO. For ultra violent crimes like rape, or beating someone over the head with a pipe, etc., these people have something wrong with their brains and should be terminated. Not only are they a danger to the general public, but also to prison staff and their fellow inmates.
As to the OP, I'd have to know more about the story before I decided what should be done with the group of kids. Was it just one or two kids stomping on his head? Was it just a freak accident that he died? Were they all trying to stomp his head? Was he stabbed? I just don't know enough. When I was incarcerated there was a guy who had just gotten transferred from a juvenile facility, he had stabbed his own mother something like 32 times, killing her, when he was 16 or 17, and only received a sentence of like 10 years. To me, that shit is ridiculous. Prisons are full of guys who rape multiple people violently, only to get sentences of like 3-5 years with 60% off for good behavior. IMO, these people have serious problems with their brain and should just be put down. There is no rehabilitation. They serve a few measly years, get released, and do the same exact thing all over again.
So my stance on capital punishment is that it should be reserved for violent offenders. And I'm not talking about violence involving two gangs who are beefing with each other - that at least is a little understandeable. I'm talking about the people who target helpless men, women, and children with unspeakable acts of horrible violence. For example - imagine 2 gang members commit a home invasion robbery with a firearrm. Technically that is considered a violent crime. But let's say the two gang members don't actually hurt anyone, and simply make off with their valuables. That would not be a capital punishment case, IMO. Now imagine you have 2 different gang members who perform a home invasion robbery where they pistol whip the homeowner and rape his wife violently, taking turns on her and using all kinds of inanimate objects to penetrate her for fun. Those 2 gang members should be put to death after their legal defense has been exhausted and there is no question as to their guilt.