A boy thinks like a child

A boy thinks like a child

EDITOR:

The last sentence of a March 1 letter asked, “Who in the world considers an 11-year-old boy capable of making an adult decision?” The letter writer was questioning how any adult could have permitted the boy who shot and killed his father’s pregnant fianc to have unfettered access to both a shotgun and ammunition for that gun.

But by extension, the question also asks how we as a people can now demand to try this 11-year-old as an adult for a crime he committed with the limited moral, ethical and psychological development of a fifth grader. We have a juvenile justice system because society recognized that a child is unable to think, reason and respond as an adult. It is the age and psychological development of the perpetrator that must determine his or her culpability, not the severity of the crime.

Without making any judgment about the boy in this sad case, there may be some 11 year olds who are incorrigible, but they are still deserving of the best efforts of society to try to help them become responsible adults. Children who do not respond to efforts to help them may require incarceration to protect society. This should be the last resort, not the first option.

I find frightening the number of people who want this boy executed for his crime, many of whom seem to think that his execution is permitted, if not mandated, by the Bible. What kind of people have we become when we cry out for killing a child who was able to commit a monstrous crime because the adults entrusted with his care failed to protect him from his own immaturity?

ROBERT F. MOLLIC

Liberty Township

Be skeptical of government

EDITOR:

Thank you for your insightful March 4 editorial on the need to balance liberty with security (“9/11-era memos show lack of respect for Constitution”). The documents have shown a light on the un-American and dangerous practices occurring in the name of defending our nation.

While President Obama, Congress and the courts have begun the monumental task of restoring the rights stripped over the last eight years, it will take many years to repair the damage done to our Constitution. However, this can be achieved if Americans hold leaders accountable and demand these changes be made.

Perhaps the greatest lesson from the Bush era is that we must always question our government officials. For many years, the federal government denied they were spying on Americans, engaging in torture or sending defenseless people to countries who would undoubtedly torture them. It was due to the continuous and forceful questioning by many advocates that the public became aware of these issues.

As we move into a new presidency, we must continue to challenge our government and hold it accountable for its actions. If we allow officials to govern without our knowledge and advice, we silence ourselves and open the door for future abuses of power.

Silence is acceptance,

SUSIE and RAY BEIERSDORFER

Youngstown

Needed: a truth detector

EDITOR:

We need to hold people accountable for what they say in the media. I am not talking about opinion here, I am talking about purposeful distortion of facts. People hear these falsehoods and believe them to be facts. They in turn repeat them to other people.

We cannot base our democracy on misinformation. We need a truth in media just as we need a truth in advertising. As the founding fathers said, “An informed populous is needed to keep a democracy alive.”

PAUL SHANABARGER

New Middletown