I am not familiar with the case.

Thanks, and good afternoon.

Where the parents, knowing he was a troubled child, bought him a pistol as a "Christmas present".

They also ran off for several days when charges were filed against them rather than turn themselves in.

The shooter originally claimed insanity but a few months later withdrew that and plead guilty.

People, especially young ones, can and do change. But when considering parole, it needs to be looked at very carefully with psych evaluations, good behavior in prison, etc.

John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez, Ted Bundy, Aileen Wuornos all deserved parole?

Is this your position?

As models of rehabilitation.

In Norway the perpetrator of the 2011 massacre received the maximum sentence of 21 years. If at the end of the sentence he is determined to be a threat to the public detention may be extended 5 years. He may appeal for parole every year. The 5 year extensions can theoretically be for life.

I find it interesting how the worst criminals are treated and how sometimes the worst is wished on lesser offenders.

How they do civil commitment for sex crimes. Serve the sentence then get locked up for "treatment" forever.

Just for you, my friend.

We have agreed to disagree but I would ask, how would you recommend we handle cases like spree killers and mass murderers?

derailing. I appreciate the thought!

There's no easy answer to this -- which, I get it, is often used as a gotcha against abolitionists. But usually when people ask me this, my response is, "What are we doing with them now?" Specifically to this question, regarding spree killers and mass murderers, what we're doing is ignoring them until they kill enough people that we can't ignore them anymore, otherwise there wouldn't be a spree or a mass. What if we didn't ignore them? What if the resources that went into police and incarceration instead went into education and family support, so Ethan Crumbley and his family got the help they *clearly* need when he was a toddler? We know what prevents crime, but we refuse to fund it.

There are certainly serial killers who didn't have a wretched childhood, undiagnosed mental illness or ignored head trauma. They are very rare. People are comforted by the idea that there is a place with a lock on the door where they can hide people they think deserve to be hidden. In that case, for those very rare examples, perhaps a system could be designed that cannot be used against the powerless for political or social or cultural caprice, that has no roots in the current system, that is not torture, and that has a clear outcome that we all agree on. In our current society, I'm not sure that's possible.

Setting aside emotions and looking at it academically.

The child exhibited virtually every red flag in the book of having a major personality disorder. He appears to even have recognized it himself and tried reaching out to his parents for help.
(In some ways I would hold them more accountable than him)

I can't say why they ignored the signs and pleas. Lack of resources? Wanting to avoid stigma or shame of mental illness? Didn't give a shit about their kid? All possible.

As always we share the common ground that money spent on pre-cime intervention is more beneficial than that spent on post-crime punishment.

I always appreciate your willingness to consider my responses seriously.

"issues."

The parents are facing manslaughter charges

I think his parents should get life without parole and he should be sent to some sort of mental facility to get the help he needs and maybe one day be able to live on his own.