Comments on: 8-Year-Old Confesses To Shooting Dad

Ariz. Boy Charged With Murder Gave Conflicting Stories, But Ultimately Confessed In Video, Police Say

[beader59]

I thought there was a gag order. Doesn''t this taint the jury pool now. I all for the 1st Amendment, but this info should not have been released.

[violist47]

If you watch the longer version of the "confession" on KTVK''s website, you''ll see a very confused, tired, miserable little boy being asked leading questions by very kind-seeming interrogators. You''ll see a child at first speaking believably about finding his father''s friend and his father already shot when he comes home. Only at the end does he say he "thinks" he shot them. It''s unbelievable that the police could perform an interrogation like this. That they released it to the public is appalling, on the one hand. On the other, well, at least we can judge for ourselves. My judgment is that this child is innocent.

[debie_0202]

My heart goes out the rest of the surviving family members if any. But the 8 year may know how to point and shoot, but I know that he did and does not know completely the understanding of death or what he has done! My grandson is almost 8 years, (no he doesn''t know how to use a real gun), but understanding death, he does not. When you play shooting, you and die and then get up and play some more!!!! This 8 year old little boy needs professional help, not jail time! He will need help understanding exactly what he has done that he has to live with the rest of his life. By the way why did he shoot them??????

[evian_ycnan]

Posted by zombo13 at 11:22 AM : Nov 19, 2008

I would rather a good confession be thrown out than a bad confession be the centerpiece of a prosecution.

Almost every juvenile confession obtained under the circumstances of this one ARE BAD. Look on the internet start with the "Central Park Jogger" case. There the police obtained multiple confessions from youths who were later shown by DNA not to have been involved.

These cops and prosecutors should ALL be fired. Now, they are trying to slant the public.

[shanev137]

"I think I shot him"

[heero78-2009]

OJ did it.

[biger-e]

Sell your guns now! Obama cometh! --------------------

Posted by CBSNews53

That should read "Buy your guns now! Obama cometh!"
he is not going to protect you.

[credibility2]

The voice of evil disguised in the body of a child. A wasted life if there ever was. There''s no excuse for what this kid premeditated doing. The kid knew exactly what he was doing. Evil.

[kitty000]

Something about this doesn''t pass the smell test. When I heard the interview I thought.....there''s no way he did it. Why if they have him taped confessing is that not shown? They say the boy said he shot them "to put them out of their misery" that sounds like something he''d been told by his father "if you''re ever out & see wounded animal put it out of it''s misery." Too bad he didn''t teach him to call 911. I didn''t see all of the interview but I did see how there''s a stepmother involved. The boy would tell his mother about what the stepmother was doing & he was threatened "what goes on in this house stays in this house." All the more reason I honor my father who was smart enough to never get married again. Most blended families are sheer hell.

[evian_ycnan]

Citing the boy''s age and the sketchy circumstances surrounding the case, CBS News chief legal analyst Andrew Cohen said, this ranks as "one of the most egregious examples of pretrial publicity."


Ya THINK! Barney Phife strikes again. Hell, Barney was a genius compared to these yokels.

[evian_ycnan]

Missy126 at 08:49 AM : Nov 19, 2008 posted, "This whole thing is making me sad and angry all at once. This is an 8 year old child, yet he is interogated without a lawyer or guadian, and the police say "we`ve solved the case"!! Incrediable. So, was there gun powder residue on his hands, are there fingerprints on the gun, how about his height. Does it match up to the angle the were shot at? ..."

If you are expecting any forensic evidence to match the supposition, you can forget it. This is an Barney Phife podunk police department who probably stood around the crime scene in muddy boots, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.

They`re satisfied.

[evian_ycnan]

This confession will be tossed so fast it''ll make your head spin. That 11:00:00 on the tape was MIDNIGHT of the day he was "detained".

They are sooo leading this kid. This confession is so bogus.

[happyass3]

I''m not a big gun fanatic and think that in a lot of ways the NRA is nuts, but I think it is totally appropriate for children this young to be taught how to properly handle and use weapons. I think the allure of weapons to children is the fact that they are taboo to touch. If you have a gun in your home then by all means take your children to hunter safety courses and teach them how to respect the weapon and handle it properly.

[rsmik]

So many posts about gun control for no reason. The kid knew exactly what shooting a gun can do, he was given a rifle and taught to shoot prairie dogs in preparation for going hunting with dad. He knew the prairie dogs weren''t going to jump back up after being shot, he knew guns can kill, and he obviously isn''t your typical eight year old, so the issue of gun control doesn''t seem to have much to do with this particular case.

[myopinion381]

It is time to toughen gun laws, make people take responsibility for their actions, and maybe stop protecting children from the discipline they need to grow up as responsible citizens. Posted by Nellybelly52 at 09:49 AM

Agree that gun laws need to be tightened. I have guns in my home but they are secured. Also, agree that it is time for parents to be parents. Society shouldn''t be raising our children. If I would have even thought of doing something as a child, my mother would have knocked me into next week.

[myopinion381]

White bread neighborhoods? Posted by get_it_str8 at 09:44 AM

Was wondering how long it would take before someone threw the race card into this. Color has nothing to do with life and death.

[tfheringer]

I would like to reply to nellybelly''s remarks. You said: "This case clearly shows us why guns are such an unnecessary part of our society."
I agree with the sentiment, that guns should be an unnecessary part of our society as you said, but the sad fact is they are a part of our society if they were not a part that cops would not need to carry a gun. You also said, "We also have police and laws to protect us." The problem is that in our society we are unable to have police everywhere they would need to be and if that was possible we would loose a lot of freedom in the trade off. You also said that "the father was truly reckless with the handling of his gun." This here is the real problem not the ownership of a gun, but the lack of safe handling of a weapon. If we do not protect the right of the people to own and bear arms we will not be far away from a fascist state much like Germany was right before WWII. This does not mean that everyone should or ought to own guns, but that you do have a right to do so if you can demonstrate you can safely handle a weapon.

[myopinion381]

I agree with you that it will be stupid to just blame the guns and not the people pulling the triggers. I agree that the people pulling the triggers are more responsible for the deaths than the guns. But it will be stupid to ignore the role of the guns in all these deaths. Why? Close to 70% of all homicides and close to 60% of all suicides are gun-related. Those bullets do not come out of the trigger fingers of the shooters. Guns are weapons specifically designed to kill people. Our suicide and homicide problems are closely associated with the presence of guns. How could any parent put a weapon designed for those purposes in the hands of kids? Posted by truthrocks at 09:38 AM

I also agree with your point except that guns are specifically designed to kill people. What about hunters (and unfortunately they say this guy was)? They use guns to kill animals that feed people. As far as a lot homicides and suicides being gun-related, that might be so but taking away guns will not change the fact that if someone wants to kill themselves or someone else, they will always find a way.

[myopinion381]

I know that a lot of people want to blame guns for killing people. How about blaming the person that pulls the trigger? I''m not saying that this boy did or didn''t do that. There are still a lot of things that have to come out on this story.

[cepe10-2009]

The law enforcement persons involved should be charged and prohibited from working in law enforcement ever again. talk about contempt fo the laws of the land and these jokers know better so it was with malice. other cases they and this prosecutor have been involved with should be looked at as well.