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I live very close to the two girls who were charged as adults in the attempted homicide of their friend.

Am I just getting old and soft? I not only feel sorry for the victim, also 12, but I feel sorry for these two young girls that commited the crime. 12 years old - they are children - how can they possibly try them as adults. Get them some proper supervision and proper mental health treatment.

So sad.

It's tragic - and unfortunately a reflection of our culture today, where such atrocities are no longer 'unthinkable.'

12 years old - they are children - how can they possibly try them as adults. Get them some proper supervision and proper mental health treatment.

I thought the same, k9lover1. Would I feel the same if the poor, innocent child who was the victim didn't survive? IDK. It is a very heinous crime as they planned it for months. This wasn't spur of the moment.

I just read this on CNN yesterday and again today. I'm very sorry for what your town is going through. I'm thankful this young victim will be physically OK.

These two girls obviously have emotional problems that need to be addressed but I agree with you -- I do not believe they should be tried as adults. I am wondering if this was just a scare tactic the DA is using? Who knows. But they will be hard pressed to find a jury (judge?) who will sentence these girls like they would an adult if they are tried like one.

And what is up with that website these girls had access to?

I think I read somewhere once that the brain areas (pre-frontal lobe) were not developed enough to fully comprehend all of this and that is why they didn't like to try children as adults.

The whole thing is mind blowing. That such a young person would even think like that and be so impressionable. I guess I was just a rebel from day one. If some website told me to kill I'll tell them to go to H*LL.

It just seems so pervasive lately.

[This message edited by k9lover1 at 1:45 PM, June 3rd (Tuesday)]

I just read an article about this and it seems like one of the girls' parents were very into death imagery and were proud of her obsession with whatever that slenderman cartoon character was. So who knows.

The statements she made to police were pretty chilling.

I have no idea about trying her as an adult or not. I don't know the specific differences in the sentencing.

I read this and my first thought was what kind of homes these two 12 year olds come from. Crazy times

Unfortunately very few people care enough to put in the time for proper treatment, so trying them as adults is a lot easier than putting them into a social welfare system that is maligned and largely ignored except to, well, malign it. Means it's probably a lot more effective too.

Better than lobotomizing them or shocking their noggins until they cant say Sally without a triple stutter I guess. Though it'd be more cost effective to wipe their personalities and drop them into the kind of asylum building we only use for horror movies these days, like we used to.

The whole case is so chilling.

-They believed Slenderman was going to come get them and take them to his castle to live after they killed their friend.

-They planned the attack for months.

-They originally were going to kill her in the girl's home, during the slumber party, but decided against because they didn't want to look at her eyes.

-One girl allegedy told other to "Just go crazy, go ballistic" while the little girl was being stabbed.

-One of the girls believed Slenderman was coming to her in dreams and was teleporting her.

At the very least these two girls need psychiatric testing and care.

So odd. So cold.

My heart goes out to the victim who thought she was hanging out with her friends, and then had to fight for her life.

(((12yr old who was attacked)))

I'm thankful that she is supposed to make a full physical recovery. I hope they get her some IC to help her emotionally work through this. I can't imagine how her family is holding up, the rage, and protectiveness they must feel.

I hope those 2 girls get the strongest (whether tried as a child or an adult), most effective sentence that will result in them seeing what a horrific thing they have done, feeling remorse, regret, and they never do anything like this again.

[This message edited by SI Staff at 1:50 PM, June 4th (Wednesday)]

I'm not convinced they should try them as adults either. What they did was horrible, no doubt. I think they both have difficulty separating fantasy from fact. It reminds be of a stretch of time when people were getting way too literal with the game Dungeons and Dragons. But I'm not sure what decades of incarceration would accomplish in this case.

I also think if we have a legal system that treats children and adults differently we need to pick an age that separates the two and stick with it. We don't treat underage drinking on a sliding scale of age.

We don't treat underage drinking on a sliding scale of age.

That's not entirely accurate. It depends on the State. Where I live, for example, the children's code applies to everyone under the age of 18. However, you can be tried and convicted for underage drinking if you are doing so before reaching the age of 21 (legal age in my state). The punishment is different for people under 18 and people over 18.

Generally speaking children get tried as adults depending on the State statutes (or federal statute) determining the minimum age at which children can be tried as adults. Anyone under the age of 15 regardless of the crime committed cannot be tried as an adult, in my state. A child who is 15 and charged with 1st degree murder can be charged as an adult. The thought is that at 15 despite brain development children know better than to plot and commit murder. This exception is used only in truly heinous cases.

I'm not defending the practice, merely saying that each State treats it differently. The "justice" system is broken. Prisons are run by private for-profit businesses. People who need adequate mental health treatment are thrown in jail instead. Addicts are thrown in jail, and not treated. Low ranking Assistant DA's are given very little discretion to pursue justice. And it is nearly impossible to navigate the system without an attorney.

The jury in this case may not have discretion as to sentencing. The Judge will have some, but not much as well. Sentencing is usually set by statute as well. The way to change it is to get involved with local politics and to vote.

[This message edited by Wayflost at 3:40 PM, June 4th (Wednesday)]

I don't think they should be tried as adults.

Their 'world' is a fantasy world and they are still children. Our system has failed us on mental health issues recognition and unfortunately we have parents who do not know how to parent.

If these two girl's parents approved of what they were into, then the girls should be removed from the home and receive treatment.

I was so concerned during the war how the young troops seemed to enjoy 'blowing away' the enemy and I watched one documentary where they compared the Iraq war to a video game and were laughing about the gore and blood.

The DA might be bluffing but in reality these girls will (or should) be held legally accountable until their 18th birthday and hopefully receive some help during that time period. Of course each state is different but that is the normal procedure in most states.