HarvestMoon1, you said it all. No clear thinking person wants this kid condemned and locked away in a dungeon for the next 25 years. I want him to face realistic justice as a lesson to other young people. I want him to learn from the incident and emerge as a conscientious young man.
“Maybe this is a case where restorative justice would have a better long term result.”
I think he needs more than that. that is double speak for doing nothing. make him attend an online anger management class or spend 2 hours feeding stroke patients in a nursing home? I do not think so.
@zobroward, restorative justice involves more than that. I suggest you read about it before dismissing it as some kind of empty “public service in lieu of punishment” scheme.
she could have been permanently paralyzed or drowned. (nobody in that group was going to rescue her) the guy needs to go to jail (when he gets out he can do the “restorative justice” ) he can even start his group psychotherapy /restorative justice while he is locked up, but he needs to be punished. do not worry a lot of factors are at play and he will just get probation…if I had to bet.
shop lifting or something sure try the “restorative justice”
A) You make a lot of assumptions, all negative;
B) You clearly have no idea what the term actually means.
Personally, I think he would learn a heck of a lot more by engaging with the victim and the community, and making amends TO HER than he would sitting in jail learning how to be a criminal and acquiring a record that would make it more difficult, not less, for him to live a constructive life.
I want him punished not “engaged” and yes I have very negative assumptions about him there is no upside to assault and battery on an old lady . you seem more concerned about the guy than his victim and the rest of society. you can have any opinion you want I need not share it with you. making amends to her would involve post jail time painting her house , mowing her lawn or whatever. I do know what “restorative justice” means and it is a joke. he can do all the “restoration” he wants after he goes to jail. but like I said he will probably get probation.
For true “restorative justice” to be an option you need participation from the victim. Right now I am not sure that Nancy James is interested. She did an interview with CBS Miami and she is very unhappy with the terms of his release. Her tone suggested to me that she might be looking for something more stringent than what a judge is going to impose. Says she is not interested in any apology and does not think he should have even been released.
Maybe she will soften over time but right now my impression is that Leon is going have a more favorable outcome in front of a judge.
The home monitoring thing does not seem like an effective sentence to me.
And, I wonder, do they expect his mother to take 3 weeks off her job to supervise him? Or are they expecting her to leave her 16 yr old at home alone all day playing video games or something?
Given the victim’s state of health, that boy is extremely lucky that he isn’t facing more serious charges, including manslaughter.
Well the judge has allowed him to leave the house for school, church and to travel with the basketball team.
It’s odd that the statute about assaulting an elderly person has a strict age limit. To me, assaulting a frail or medically vulnerable person is extra odious whatever their age. Assaulting my 67 year old biking friend in robust good health would be no worse than assaulting a 40-year-old, but assaulting a frail elder or a young person using a wheelchair is worthy of extra judicial response.
I agree with Consolation here: this case seems well suited to restorative justice. The young man did something wrong, but young men can atone for their minor crimes and mend their ways when faced with the gravity of their behavior. Restorative justice focuses on the victim feeling that justice has been done. As it is, she doesn’t feel that justice was done.