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Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures."
-- Daniel Webster
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Monday, June 02, 2003 :::
Kate Malcolm asks what's wrong with kids these days, and the story to which she linked provides the answer:They were taken home but no prosecution is possible because they are deemed under the age of criminal responsibility. It may be that a criminal response to this is not yet appropriate, but parents who assume that children don't respond to incentives will create more of these little heathens. Some kind of "fix this or we will" response from the state (or the victim) would seem to be called for.I was thinking recently about the bad-childhood defense. My take on this alternates between - If you lack any moral responsiblity, and are merely an automaton, then you have the moral worth of an automaton, too, and may be dealt with as a destructive machine that's gone out of control; and
- If you don't respond sufficiently to normal incentives of criminal punishment, we'll have to intensify them to acheive the necessary effect.
I'm really only that hard-hearted when people try to raise vice-development into an industry; the notion of rehabilitation appeals to me, but it absolutely has to start with a willingness to be rehabilitated.
::: posted by dWj at 1:53 PM
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