Comments on: 8-Year-Old's Confession Draws Fire

Taped Interrogation Of Child Accused Of Killing Dad "Absurd," Says CBS News Legal Analyst

[cricketbeers]

I''''d hope that they would become our pastime! There''''s no place in a civilized society for violent, thoughtless murderer''''s and putting the fear of god in them with the threat of immediate and public death might serve as a deterrent.......if not, the numbers of such heinous crimes will decrease with each passing execution!---------------

WOW -- "putting the fear of God into them..." Do you really believe God condones execution? Not to mention, what if someone is found guilty but is truly innocent? What does God say to the punishers when this happens? "Oh, minor glitch! We''ll dock you a few months from paradise."

[farremoved]

.......I''''d be willing to bet that public executions and hangings could easily become one of America''''s favorite pastimes.

Posted by IrishWench

I''d hope that they would become our pastime! There''s no place in a civilized society for violent, thoughtless murderer''s and putting the fear of god in them with the threat of immediate and public death might serve as a deterrent.......if not, the numbers of such heinous crimes will decrease with each passing execution!

[bacallabah]

what kind of gun was this cause anything above lets say a 22 depending on the size of the boy would have knocked him on his u know what from what i can think i remember being that age and shooting (trained by responsible adults in use) and having to actually sit on the ground to shoot due to the kick backs.and the confession was ilegally taken with no counsel of a minor so i do believe that will be tossed as well and we all know about how cops coerce for confessions.second question would be IF he did do it WHY perhaps molestation is an issue perhaps abuse of some kind for that kind of anger perhaps bad parenting on not educating the child on how fake games and TV shows are i personally have educated my son how hollywood works and he is 8 now also

[cricketbeers]

Are the police even looking for other suspects? Or are they pinning their entire theory on this little boy?

If an adult were questioned and a confession was received without miranda rights or a lawyer present, this would be tossed out so quick it would make your head spin. WHY is he even in a detention facility based on this supposed confession?

Sure some kids are evil, just like some adults are evil. But when the authorities aren''t exploring any other scenarios, it smells more than a little fishy to me. Does he have a history of violence? Mental illness?

I highly doubt that he just one day picked up a gun and shot each person twice just for the heck of it. And with pinpoint accuracy - so that the other man wasn''t able to overtake the gun. Premeditated? Hardly. 8 year olds don''t PLAN to do much of anything...

[credibility2]

Let''s get over this false mentality that because this is an eight year old kid that he couldn''t possibly have premeditated the murders and pulled the triggers killing two adults. Evil criminality comes in all ages, shapes and sizes. The kids of today are much more evil and vicious than they were a few decades ago. The system doesn''t care at all about the victims and their families, only the evil criminal kid and his so-called rights. You murder, you shouldn''t have any rights.

[hitoyou1]

This is what the police do. They don''t care about the law. This is why most people wont talk to the police, they know the police are CROOKS. They do this type of thing all the time. Some of the biggest crooks in the U.S.A. are cops.

[evian_ycnan]

Posted by DangYankee69 at 10:47 AM : Nov 20, 2008

See Peter Reilly, small towns, Barney Phife.

http://www.truthinjustice.org/reilly.htm

What''s the motive here? CYA Same as the motive in Falls Village (even smaller than Mayberry RFD)

[susanhelit]

This case is starting to stink. That''s not a confession - that''s a kid telling an adult what they want to hear. IIRC, this kid wasn''t a problem before - why would he suddenly shoot his dad and someone else? It makes no sense.

We had a case like this in San Diego - an older kid, but the same scenario - the police convinced him that he had to say he killed his sister - they told him they had his blood and fingerprints on the knife, he accepted they were telling the truth (they weren''t), and said that if that were true, he must have done it and not remembered - they took that as a confession - after many hours of interrogation without his parents nor any attorney present to protect him.

He recanted, the prosecutor tried to charge him for a few years - all the while, in the evidence locker, was sitting a sweatshirt from the real killer, with the little girl''s blood on it - the police had picked him up that night trying to get into houses - but were so sure it was the brother that they took the sweatshirt to prove he didn''t do it, never tested it, and let him go. It took almost a decade to get the real killer brought up on charges.

Lesson: Don''t go to sleep in a house with kids and guns present. It''s too doggone tempting.

[dangyankee69]

The fallacy of retrospective determinism is almost as big a problem as the fact that a confession only is useful if the person confessing is guilty.

"If he shot one of the men why was the other man not able to overtake him? "

Maybe because Tim would never in his wildest dreams think that what he heard could be the sounds of the boy killing his father? If he assumed it was something else his actions make perfect sense.

[mellie1957]

I don''t believe the kid did it. Two things trouble me... If he shot one of the men why was the other man not able to overtake him? Second, it doesn''t sound like they are looking for any other suspects; the true killer is probably very close by. Maybe "agidoi" has it right. Where was the step-mom when this transpired?

[blogthis1]

Give me a break. This little monster did not think he was playing make believe. He knew he was shooting and killing them. Let this kid off and watch.... he''ll be back in the news in a few years after killing someone else.

[p0ntific8r]

That was not an interrogaton, it was an inquisition. They seem to be focused only on terrorizing this child. It is extremely obvious that his statements which were clear and consise indicating he was not involved went to the hypothetical "might have happened" to give the interrogating officers the murky answers they wanted.

I have been a police officer and involved in law enforcement for many years - this interrogation is totally bogus and will not hold any legal integrity.

[connapa]

Not just the tooth fairy and magic, lets not forget Santa Claus. If forensics can "prove" that he did it, he doesn''t need prison, but some type of treatment. As they say on CSI- follow the evidence.

[dangyankee69]

The Court entered into a contract with the Mother. The court set conditions on the release - No guns, knives, Television or video games. The Mother was free to refuse to agree to these requirements. She chose to agree. If she violates the agreement she can be found in contempt of court. Is it really that complicated?

[dangyankee69]

Beyond that - If the kid came home loaded a rifle and shot his father, and then called the renter in so he could give him the same brutal treatment then the adjective "innocent" doesn''t really fit.

[dangyankee69]

If the graduates of Eastern Liberal Arts Colleges would stop watching violent Television and buying violent Video Games producers would stop producing them. As long as there is a market there will be people there to feed it and make a living off it.

[hamiltongrad]

Children who are drawn to video games of violence need to be helped, not punished.
Eventually all visions of violent acts have to be banned from TV, video games, and movies, that way we as a society can bring such "bad turns" into hope and sunshine. As a Feminist College Professor I am truly sure and certain that we must form community groups to stop the free ourselves from the need to blame others. We ARE ALL TO BLAME !

[hamiltongrad]

We need to be sensitive to this boy and ask (if he did this ) what made him do it ? Was there some type of school hazing, and "mean" teacher or other kids, or even a neighbor leaving bad language internet notes on myspace for example. All of society is to blame in such cases, by definition, when a child or a woman is tragically drawn into violence. Was the TV to blame ?
What about video games. Were they violent, pooluting his mind ?
Surely we need to ask why, rather than to blame and I hope not, forget that this is only an innocent child.

[agidoi]

i think the stepmom did it