spectre

Not if the kid turns out to be a serial killer. To my knowledge, every serial killer started out by viciously torturing and killing animals for pleasure. The kid needs some serious help before he becomes more fucked up than he already is.

__________________
"Fuck these chains
No goddamn slave
I will be different" ~ Machine Head

Frosstbyte

Someone who tortures animals does not always become a serial killer. However, if you do torture animals, you have a high chance of qualifying for conduct disorder, a childhood mental disorder that is required for diagnosing antisocial personality disorder later in life, the mental disorder that is commonly linked to serial killers. Most people who have conduct disorder do not go on to have antisocial personality disorder. Most people who have antisocial personality disorder do not go on to be serial killers.

Yes, he may have tortured/killed an animal. Assuming the report is true and he showed true remorse for his actions, it's very likely that it's an isolated incident and that he doesn't really have the severe psychological disturbances generally associated with people who go on to become serial killers.

That being said, I think a much more effective way of dealing with the situation than sending him to jail is, on the off chance that he's a good actor, to have him go through some sort of therapy to diagnose him and treat him if necessary. When someone does something like this, it's a red flag, certainly, but it doesn't mean he's guaranteed to be a derranged psychopath.

spectre

I never said every person that tortures animals turns out to be a serial killer, I said that every serial killer had, at some point, tortured an animal. It's not guaranteed that he will become a serial killer, but if his actions continue to follow this pattern, the possibility still exists.

__________________
"Fuck these chains
No goddamn slave
I will be different" ~ Machine Head

sixate

So if the kid has a possibility to become a serial killer then what about the people who feel he should be fed to the gator? They could be the next coming of Hitler.

spectre

Cute, real cute.

__________________
"Fuck these chains
No goddamn slave
I will be different" ~ Machine Head

sixate

I thought you'd like that. I can't pass up an opportunity to be a smartass.

seretogis

First, grow up. I can't understand how anyone could laugh about something like this, but whatever, maybe it's a defense mechanism of yours to bypass any sort of moral judgement, or maybe you're just trying to shock people and impress mommy and daddy.

Secondly, I wouldn't say that "people are more important than animals" in anything more than a "we're higher in the foodchain" sense. The cat was property of and a companion of someone. That person was wronged when the cat was killed, not just the cat. If you have had a pet for several years you'd know exactly what I'm talking about.

As for "giv[ing] the kid a break", uh.. what? People get plenty of breaks with the justice system, there's no need to be lenient on someone that tortures and kills animals for fun. The claim that the kid showed remorse is something to be hopeful of, but he may have just faked tears in order to manipulate his parents -- it's not uncommon.

__________________
seretogis - sieg heil
perfect little dream the kind that hurts the most, forgot how it feels well almost
no one to blame always the same, open my eyes wake up in flames

sixate

I'm already 6'8". How much more do you want me to grow?

I know I'm 100% alone on this cause I hate animals. They stink, chew everything, piss/shit on stuff, get fur all over everything that they don't chew/shit/piss on. Without going into detail let's just say that if this kid gets 5 years in jail then I should have been locked up as a kid and not been let out yet. I've NEVER started a fight or thought of killing a person. You're right about people getting a break from the justice system. If OJ can stay out of jail then this fucking kid should too.

Vincentt

First, it was just a cat!

"People who kill pets are more likely to become psycho killers" – not a real quote

“Well damnit, people who have guns are more likely to shoot people, then those who don't have guns.”

“Huh?”

By this logic we should put people in jail for doing something that some killers have in common?

Maybe there is a feed-cat-to-gator gene we can target and start tossing the babies right into jail right out of their mothers.

Or just exaggerate a lot.

… Stray dogs, stray cats…. Hungry people… you do the math.

__________________
.

MSD

I'm not going to pass judgement on the actions that you're implying, but from what I've heard from you over time, I think it's safe to say that you have (and probably had) a lot more mental cacpacity and restraint than most kids who torture animals.

If a significant number of kids who do this kind of stuff go on to develop more serious problems, then the kid should at least be be checked out and have his head examined.

seretogis

I think that it says a lot about you that you couldn't even make it past the first three words of my post.

__________________
seretogis - sieg heil
perfect little dream the kind that hurts the most, forgot how it feels well almost
no one to blame always the same, open my eyes wake up in flames

seretogis

As long as it wasn't your cat, who cares, right? As long as it's not your civil liberties, who cares? As long as it's not your girlfriend's unborn child, who cares? Can I guess your political party affiliation?


Nice try, but that is an incredibly broken analogy. Having a gun in your posession does not alter your personality and make you aim it at someone and pull the trigger. Lawful gun-owners are not significantly more prone to commit violent crimes involving a gun. Torturing and killing animals is a stepping-stone to committing similar crimes against humans. Maybe you will feel differently if this kid (or sixate for that matter, he seems a little too proud of what he suggests he's done to animals ) gets out of control and plays feed-the-gator with your baby boy, or your wife, or your mother.

The 14-year-old in this case is not the victim, so don't treat him as one.

__________________
seretogis - sieg heil
perfect little dream the kind that hurts the most, forgot how it feels well almost
no one to blame always the same, open my eyes wake up in flames

denim

Now you want to feed a cat to your brain??

Vincentt

The analogy was ment to be broken.

The boy fed a cat to a gator, he didn't feed a baby to a gator.

If you are saying that a cat is equal to a baby, then there is really is no reason to continue a conversation.

Having a gun DOES make you more likely to shoot someone, then not having a gun, its sort of a prerequisite.

A lot of people kill animals, and not all of them are killers. YOU just don't hear about them because... why would you? It isn't until after they catch a killer that they like to look back and go why, why, and where there any signs?

__________________
.

KWSN

I'm trying right now to feel about as much sympathy as I can, but honestly... I need more background on the cat. I also need more background on the cat's owners and what they did with the cat. Why? There's this noisy fucking dog who's been running around my street lately. The owners have had it its whole life, it's 5 years old, and yet it NEVER stays in its own yard, attacks random people, takes dumps in MY yard, etc. The owners, when anyone complains just apologize, but it happens again and again. I am listening right now to the dog barking and clawing at my door. I, quite frankly, would be rather pleased if this dog met an untimely demise. Of course, the owners would get up in arms if someone killed it. But the thing is this: THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN AS CONSCIOUS ABOUT IT WHEN IT WAS ALIVE AS WHEN IT WAS DEAD. If their dog does all the crap it does, they obviously don't care about it all that much. If the dog was killed and they got pissed, what are they getting pissed over? Oh no, now we can't be kept up late at night by the sounds of barking and clawing across the street. Honestly, that baffles me.

What I'm getting at is, if that cat was anthing like that, I think that if I were in the kid's position, I might have done it myself (ok, maybe not... but I would have at least not been mad at the kid). If the cat was a nice cat that kept to itself, that the owner loved, and never gave anyone any reason to be mad, I think the kid should get an assload of community service and fines. But if that cat's like that dog across the street, fuck it. The cat, and the owner, got what they were asking for.

__________________
Your arms are broken!

krwlz

You people are to uptight sometimes, it was a fucking cat!! The kid said he was sorry!! End of story...while I can't say I would have done it, I can see where the idea would form....

In the end, no one was hurt (humans) so we ought to just let it go...we do not arrest people who let their cats run all over and that cat gets eaten....

Besides, if the cat couldn't get away from a gator, it probably wasn't worth much anyway kidding!

seretogis

If you have a pet, let me come over and beat and then kill it in front of you. You won't mind, right?

__________________
seretogis - sieg heil
perfect little dream the kind that hurts the most, forgot how it feels well almost
no one to blame always the same, open my eyes wake up in flames

seretogis

First, to many people a pet is part of the family as much as a child. So, to have someone beat and murder it is like having a member of your family beaten and then murdered. It's common for people to have feelings for an animal that they've lived with for 12 years -- to not would be odd, or indicative of other problems. If you can't understand that very basic concept, then there is really no reason to continue a conversation.

Having a gun does not make you significantly more likely to kill someone. Having a murderous mindset does. Comparing having a gun to something as awful as beating and then killing a defenseless animal astounds me. I have a gun, knife, hatchet, and claw hammer but I have absolutely no desire to beat and kill my dog. It takes someone very twisted to do so, and it is definitely a warning sign that should be acknowledged.

__________________
seretogis - sieg heil
perfect little dream the kind that hurts the most, forgot how it feels well almost
no one to blame always the same, open my eyes wake up in flames

Pyrate

I guess it's just part of being 'tilted'...

__________________
?

Vincentt

If you don't have a gun, you can not shoot anyone with a gun.

To many people there car is like there baby, can I have them thrown in jail when someone smashes into it?

Does an inanimate object not count?
Does a non-sentient being count as a sentient one?

5 years in prison is more then some people get for rape…

I doubt 100% that this case goes anywhere, the media loves to post these stories. Good way to give illusions that the legal system is broken.

__________________
.