kids: sentencing them and educating them...

cody posey was sentenced...despite the state's best efforts he will not be receiving a life sentence for the murder of his family on sam donaldson's ranch here in new mexico. (for those of you that didn't see...donaldson's testimony was a riot...this is about how it went..."i was walking up to the door and i saw a large dark spot. i immediately recognized it as blood. [pause]...covered the war in vietnam, saw a lot of it there." very amusing)...

this kid was all of 14 when the murders were committed. 14 years old, and the state was hoping to keep him in prison until he died...presumably another 50 years down the road. why is this still an issue? what is it about young people committing crime that makes us want to punish them worse than adults? why is it that we cannot recognize that kids do not have the same cognitive abilities as adults...that kids do stupid shit...that they are kids. we seem willing to write off kids pulling stupid pranks as harmless because they are kids and don't know any better and haven't fully realized the consequences of their actions...yet when kids get into shit they understand even less...we condemn them as adults. i just don't get it.

lots of states have this problem too...there are far too many people sitting through life sentences for crimes committed before they got out of middle school, before they could drive, before they could vote...and what good has come of it? are our violent crime rates really lower? how many tax dollars do we spend holding these kids in prison forever? and wouldn't it be cheaper in the long run to address the causes of child crime? wouldn't a bit more up front to educate these kids and give them opportunity and hope save billions over the long haul? why don't we recognize this? is it merely because the results would take too long to appear? that by the time society saw a benefit from it the politicians would be long gone and wouldn't be getting credit for it? is it that our system has become so indoctrinated in the quick fix that none of our leaders can ever think ahead? we need a hero...

educate these kids...give them opportunity...give them hope...and they will turn away from crime. it would not cost near as much as people think either...for starters, spread the wealth around. why do wealthy folks hoard all their resources and refuse to share with those that need it most? why is no child left behind designed to cut funding to "failing" schools? when will it stop being about "me and my own" and start being about us?

you throw a kid in prison for life...instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars for the next 40 to 60 years...throw a tiny portion of that up front to rebuild his/her school...throw some to quality teachers...throw some to after school programs designed to keep them off the street...throw some to updating facilities (and not just the football field or assembly hall)...put a tiny bit of that into their education and watch us reap the rewards for generations to come.

but we never will...don't know why i bother dreaming...

i don't know where i'm wanting to be...i just know i have to be there alone...