Canada's youngest multiple killer enrols in university

[Merry]

We don't have all the facts about what happened but, based on what we do know, it appears this young girl helped kill her family just because her parents were standing in the way of her having a continuing relationship with her older boyfriend.

Anyone who would go to such lengths to get their own way must have some sort of personality disorder, and it is my experience that while people who have undergone phsyciatric treatment for those types of disorders may see their disorder improve, it rarely disappears altogether. So when this person is released into society she will most likely still be suffering from the same personality disorder, albeit in a milder form, and could very well still be a danger to herself and others.

The provisions of the Young Offender Act ought not to apply when dealing with young people suffering from mental illness. Because how can society set an arbitrary time line for rehabilitation when dealing with the mentally ill? Many people with mental health issues are never fully cured, because treatment of such issues is still a very inexact science. So to have a set date when they must be released back into society is just plain foolish.

This young lady is either mentally ill or just plain evil. Either way, I wouldn't want her living next door to me, would you?

[bob vernon]

She should have to rot in jail for her full sentence. No schooling, no rehab. That way, she'll come out of jail as a bitter and twisted individual that we expect our prisoners to be. And have to resort to hooking, dealing drugs, or theft to support herself. This nonsense of rehabilitating prisoners in jail is just wrong. If they go to school and learn something in jail, they'll just come out and fit into society and actually get a decent job and start paying taxes and stuff. It's just wrong.

Who knows where this going to school nonsense will end?

[Piecemaker]

There are adults in jail who are also completing University degrees. Others are being taught basic literacy and/or finishing high school. Others are receiving some sort of technical or trade education.
Society is better served to have individuals who have completed their sentences to be rehabilitated and able to be productive members rather than repeat offenders, or having to resort to crime to survive.

[Oxl3y]

There are adults in jail who are also completing University degrees. Others are being taught basic literacy and/or finishing high school. Others are receiving some sort of technical or trade education.
Society is better served to have individuals who have completed their sentences to be rehabilitated and able to be productive members rather than repeat offenders, or having to resort to crime to survive.

Would you say the same if this psycho was sitting beside your son/daughter in a college course? She will NEVER be a productive member of society, who would hire her? who would hang out with her? would in their right mind would even want her in their neighborhood?

She should be locked away in a mental institution for the rest of her days which is still too good for her imo.

[Piecemaker]

There are adults in jail who are also completing University degrees. Others are being taught basic literacy and/or finishing high school. Others are receiving some sort of technical or trade education.
Society is better served to have individuals who have completed their sentences to be rehabilitated and able to be productive members rather than repeat offenders, or having to resort to crime to survive.

Would you say the same if this psycho was sitting beside your son/daughter in a college course? She will NEVER be a productive member of society, who would hire her? who would hang out with her? would in their right mind would even want her in their neighborhood?

She should be locked away in a mental institution for the rest of her days which is still too good for her imo.

There is no evidence to suggest she is a risk to any of the other students. (My daughter attended classes in trade school with someone that killed his girlfriend and was out of jail on parole.)
She apparently has some extended family members that are supportive of her rehabilitation. She may be let out of jail at some point to a half-way house or some such thing and be supported to be involved in employment with someone who is aware of her criminal history, but will still employ her. She will be out of jail when she is 22 whether she is rehabilitated or not.
Yes, the crime she was involved in was awful/evil/horrific and so on. If she were my niece, I don't know how I'd feel about her.

[Homeownertoo]

That answers who is paying her tuition.

But what a heartwarming story it is. Troubled child, left an orphan on the cusp of adolescence, goes on to better herself by acquiring a higher education. Perhaps her unique life experiences will guide her into a career in law, defending the wrongly accused, bringing justice into her corner of the world. Or the teaching profession, where she can help lead young people to a productive path in society. Surely this must be an example of our justice system at its best.

[Piecemaker]

What should happen to young offenders that are 12 when they commit a serious crime like murder?

[hutton]

The only thing that I am curious about is: "Who is paying for her tuition??????????"

Does it matter?

Absolutly it does.

[hutton]

Your concerned about a 20-30 thousand dollar tuition bill, spread out over 2-4 years, that will give this girl a bright future?What does a year in jail teach you besides how to be jaded and how not to get raped in the shower?

Most likely its a student loan, rehab would want to teach her about personal responsibility and debts/finance ect.[/quote]


Since when is it the taxpayers responsability to foot the bill to try and give criminals a bright future???? Some people can't afford to do it for their own kids but you think their taxdollars should do it for someone else??? Hell we might as well pay to send Pickton to University too by some of your reasoning.

I doubt it will be a student load as how would she qualify for one????

[Piecemaker]

Your concerned about a 20-30 thousand dollar tuition bill, spread out over 2-4 years, that will give this girl a bright future?What does a year in jail teach you besides how to be jaded and how not to get raped in the shower?

Most likely its a student loan, rehab would want to teach her about personal responsibility and debts/finance ect.

Since when is it the taxpayers responsability to foot the bill to try and give criminals a bright future???? Some people can't afford to do it for their own kids but you think their taxdollars should do it for someone else??? Hell we might as well pay to send Pickton to University too by some of your reasoning.

I doubt it will be a student load as how would she qualify for one????[/quote]

We are paying thousands of dollars per month to keep her incarcerated, a few thousand more is moot. (That is if her tuition is being paid for by "us". A relative could be paying it.) Also, our criminal justice system has a rehabilatative mandate when dealing with young offenders.
I'm not sure anyone could conclude that she will have a "bright future". A "brighter future" perhaps. The fact that she comitted murder isn't going to ever go away and she's going to have to live with that, educated or not.
Pickton is in his 50's and is not going to be released into society with nearly his entire adult life ahead of him. That being said, he could take literacy, high-school or university courses inside an adult prison if he wished.

What should we do with children who commit serious crimes, like murder?

[hutton]

(That is if her tuition is being paid for by "us". A relative could be paying it.)



That is all I was originally asking "who is paying for it??" as the article doesn't mention it, just curious, that is all.
As far as what to do with kid criminals................. Don't think I want to open that Castanet can of worms.

[Merry]

I don't think there's a "one size fits all" solution when it comes to dealing with underage criminals, particularly those who commit murder. Despite society's calls for mandatory sentencing, when it comes to young offenders judges need to be given more license to consider all the circumstances surrounding the crime when determining an appropriate sentence.

Obviously young offenders who have been subjected to some form of abuse and feel murder is their only remedy deserve a different sentence than one who is merely piqued because parents appear to be standing in the way of something that particular young person wants to do. Past history of criminal and/or anti social behavour also needs to be taken into consideration, as does the likelihood (or not) of rehabilitation.

Any young offender who is a danger to him or herself, or to the rest of society, needs to be removed from the general population until the danger has passed, regardless of the reason he or she is a threat. However, the nature and length of the confinement should be variable based on criteria such as I've outlined above. Having mandatory minimum and/or maximum sentencing is inappropriate because it makes it impossible for the judge to take into consideration expert opinions as to whether or not the person truly has been rehabilitated prior to release.

That said, in a system such as ours where even those who commit heinous crimes such as this young lady did, will eventually be released, it only makes sense that we prepare them to be productive citizens and then hope for the best. It's not the best system, but it's the one we currently have. The cost of the tuition is minor compared to the alternative of releasing people who are unprepared and unable to support themselves. However, in the interest of fairness, maybe they should be expected to repay some of that tuition cost over time once they become re-established in society.

[Piecemaker]

There certainly aren't any easy answers. I guess the thinking would be that if a young offender receives an education they will be able to work and pay taxes instead of going on welfare when they are released.
There are a variety of rehabilitative programs and services in the youth justice system. They ALL cost money. For all we know, attending university isn't any more costly. She obviously completed grade 12 and would have needed to have respectable grades to even be considered for university. I am more concerned about the ones reaching manadatory release dates that didn't respond to any sort of rehabilatative opportunities.

[fvkasm2x]

I think she has every right to apply for entrance into a University.

That said, I think it says a lot about a school that would actually accept her. I wouldn't want to attend classes with her or have my child sit next to her.

Yes her debt to society may have been paid, but that doesn't mean she's cured/rehabilitated. For all I know, she'd kill a teacher for getting a bad grade.