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I don't excuse his negligent behavior at all... However: If you have been out there hunting, you know that your brain plays tricks on you. You start seeing every stump as a deer/bear. Every leaf falling becomes a deer hoof quietly walking around your position. You have prepped for this trip. You are ready to see your quarry. You want it. Your brain convinces you that you see that third point on that buck. You KNOW it's there. But you wait. You fight "buck fever." You calm your breathing, you scan. You MUST verify. You tell yourself not to make a dangerous / immoral mistake. You think about the severity of the scenario. You think about that bullet, and how you can't take it back. Or... If you're 14 and not very self-disciplined.... you believe what you WANT to see, and you shoot. Kid fucked up, for sure. |
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I don't have all the answers, either. I just feel that 30 days in jail (juvenile detention) and 120 hours of community service for killing another human being doesn't seem like enough punishment no matter what the person's age was. I guess the part that I'm having trouble with is the fact that the shooter made a conscious decision to aim the rifle at an object that they couldn't properly identify and then made a conscious decision to pull the trigger anyway. It's not like they dropped the gun and it went off and the bullet killed an innocent bystander. THAT would have been unintentional. What happened was tragic, to be sure, but it shouldn't have happened. I don't know, maybe I'd feel better if they'd given the maximum sentence (90 days?) and took away his right to ever touch another firearm. But that's just me. |
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Quoted: I don't see it quite that way.I guess the part that I'm having trouble with is the fact that the shooter made a conscious decision to aim the rifle at an object that they couldn't properly identify and then made a conscious decision to pull the trigger anyway. That's the way it ENDED UP, but that kid thought believed he was shooting a bear. In his mind, he HAD identified it. Hindsight being 20/20, we know he fucked up and should have studied it a bit harder. EDIT: If he had shot at a noise, or movement in a bush, that would be different. In my humble opinion. Anyway, again, I don't excuse his negligence, just trying to "understand the circumstances." |
| It was a negligent mistake but none the less I think it atleast points to hunters of any age going through longer hunters safety courses maybe with a red asphalt style video at the end so they understand the importance of target ID. I also think youth/new hunters should hunt with their parents or a experienced guardian and stay by their side the entire time. As for punishment its not for me to decide but I'll bet after this incident should this kid touch a gun again he'll probably be more responsible than most out there. Horrible way to learn a lesson. It happened a bit ago but my condolences to the family. |
| At the time, this was a 14yr old child. He fucked up, thats obvious and should go without saying. He took someones life and I don't think many days go by when he doesn't think of this. What would you want to happen if this was your kid? What would the woman want if it was her kid that made the mistake? What do some of you people want? It seems like you're wanting this kid in prison for a mistake. I've seen people die for far dumber reasons than this. This is life, fucked up things happen......just b/c they happen, no ryhme and reason. I would like to see this kid grow up and teach others from the mistakes he's made. |
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Quoted:
Maybe the guy looked like a bear. You are a sick puppy.  I like that about you.
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I don't have all the answers, either. I just feel that 30 days in jail (juvenile detention) and 120 hours of community service for killing another human being doesn't seem like enough punishment no matter what the person's age was. Do you think we should adopt the obviously incorrect policy that all life is priceless? I think it's crappy to kill someone, but I don't think someone should be endlessly punished for one dumbass moment. Yes, that would be the most just thing to do, but in the end, too much justice leads to rebellion. The kid would grow up hating society because of all the things he'll never be allowed to do. So we'd be using a mistake to justify making a monster. That's not what we want either. I dunno if his sentence was fitting in his case, but I can imagine cases when that sentence would be fitting. And the whole reason we have judges is to selectively enforce punishments to fit the circumstances. I think that our "arbitrary punishment" system is a good thing as it allows circumstances to matter, not just the crime. So maybe he didn't get a huge punishment, but that's not always a bad thing. 
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