If reading a breaking news bulletin about a nine year old being stabbed to death by a twelve year old at a playground wasn't depressing enough, the last sentence stated that police were waiting for the medical examiner's findings to determine if the twelve year old should be charged as an adult.
What is the point of having an age of consent (15, 16 or 17 in most US states) or an age when you are determined to be a legal adult (18 or 21) if you are going to turn around and charge a twelve year old as an adult if the crime is notorious or outrageous enough? I feel very sad for the whole situation and would recommend charging some adults with child neglect or endangerment if the twelve year old turns out to be another sad case of a kid who was never allowed to be a kid, but anyone who claims that a twelve year old is capable of being independent, self sufficient, and responsible is an idiot. Has the prosecutor spent any time with twelve year olds?
SB's best friend has a daughter who is a genius. When she was five, SB walked into a room and thought that he was hearing music playing from a CD but it was the daughter at the piano. When she was seven she was separated from her family on a hike and deduced the most likely place that her father would look for her and waited for him there. Her parents struggle with wanting her to have a 'normal' life while allowing her to pursue her many gifts without feeling pressured. She is more logical and rational than any of her friends but when you talk to her, you know that she is a child. She prefers the company of fellow children. She is a brilliant and somewhat discomfiting young girl, but a girl nonetheless. She has a rules and guidance that she needs. She requires comfort and nurturing like any child her age because she has yet to develop psychologically into adulthood. Maybe she will get there sooner than her peers, but at the age of twelve, she is clearly not an adult.
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