Eight FL teens kidnapped and beat a teen unconscious. Should they be tried as adults?

CBS News





CBS





LAKELAND, Fla. (CBS) ― Eight teenagers have been arrested after filming the beating of another teen and threatening to post the video on the Internet, sheriff's officials said.


http://wbztv.com/national/teens.beating....








If they were "inner city" teens would they be thrown in prison without a second thought?

Eight FL teens kidnapped and beat a teen unconscious. Should they be tried as adults?
I'd love the law to be color blind, minimally take age into consideration, and come down on this group like a ton of bricks.





That's my conservative opinion of all criminals.
Reply:Yes they should be. They should see some jail time. Probably.
Reply:Yes, they should. I think if they're over 16, charge them as adults.





"If they were 'inner city' teens would they be thrown in prison without a second thought?"





You mean if they were blacks or minorities? If that were the case, they'd be charged as adults, they'd be charged with attempted murder and chances are they'd get 25 to life at the end. Not that I would completely disagree with that verdict (regardless to race), it's just that blacks and minorities almost always get a harsher sentence than whites.
Reply:These cheerleaders need a good stint in jail. Their color really has nothing to do with it. Age may play a factor, but I would not be suprised if the ringleader gets tried as an adult, as she should.





I do not know about the "inner city" comment. I like to think justice is more blind then that.
Reply:I thought you were smarter than trying to make a racial issue out of this. There is no racial issue. They should be tried as adults.
Reply:weren't they white girls?





Wow.... sad example of Americans.





Yes, try them as adults.
Reply:THEY SHOULD DEFINITELY DO TIME.
Reply:Are they closer to 13 or 17? Trying an older teen as an adult makes sense, not only are they closer to being an adult, but thier sentence for a serious crime would be cut commically short by thier 18th birthday.





Fair or not, there is often a perception of suburban kids as being less wordly and more innocent than urban ones, yes. An urban prosecutor probably wouldn't hesitate to charge teens as adults, since he's probably seen many examples of children that age committing heinous crimes. A suburban or rural one might not have such experiences.
Reply:They should be tried as adults and maybe that will teach the brainless idiots a lesson.
Reply:They filmed the beat down - for that alone - hell yeah. At the very least, they need to be punished to the severed extent that will be allowed to a minor.





This is becoming a sick trend that needs to be checked, and if these little heifers need to be made an example of to stop this, then I have no problem with that.
Reply:the only reason they are still not in jail is because they're white. race DOES play a role.





[anyone who is a "minority"]


go out in the street with a hoodie and see if a cop stops you just for walking around.





thought so.
Reply:It makes no difference to the parents of this child what race or where the bully's were from. I don't know what the law is when a minor is accussed of something like this. Very sad story though. As long as adults believe brutializing others is a way to solve problems (war) we can't expect our teens to be peaceful %26amp; learn peaceful solutions if all they learn is about war.
Reply:Kids are dumba**es.





This is a prosecutors dream. The whole crime was videotaped so there is no way the little monsters can say, "it wasn't me". And the prosecutor should go for the maximum penalty whatever that is.





Then the parents of the teen who was beaten should take the other teens parents to court, sue them civilly and take them for everything they have.





Then the little sh*ts should be prosecuted for stupidity by putting their crime on tape and putting it on YouTube.





What a bunch of morons!!





Oh, and don't give us the racist crap. I'm sick of it and it has nothing to do with this. It's only racist if you make it. So grow up.
Reply:Typical race-baiting liberal. How about informing yourself before you speak next time...oh, wait...if you did that, you'd be a conservative.
Reply:Throw away the key!
Reply:they should be tried as adults. They are old enough to know wrong from right, and in todays world you never know. The punishment should not be as harsh b/c they still need to be a child so they can have a normal adult life. but if they get away with it now, it will never stop
Reply:They are also being charged with kidnapping so they will be tried as adults and will face time!!!!
Reply:Yes they should be judge as adults.They are quilty of planning out a beating just like adults would.


As far as the inter city youth I am afraid he would get the wrong end of the stick.
Reply:Yes


Should be charged as adults
Reply:No they shouldn't. Kids beating up kids is of all times. I saw the video and of course this is a terrible crime and those girls should get punished. That punishment needs to be hard but also aimed and reintegration in society. Throwing them in jail, trying them as adults will only remedy our feelings of disgust and fear, it does nothing positive for the victim for society or for the guilty girls. Trying them as adults is the easy way out, it makes us feel better and vindicated but does more harm than good in the long run. They are still kids despite their disgusting crime and can be rehabilitated.





Something very destructive made these girls behave like they did and we need to know what and how to eliminate it. Jails, and certainly at that age are often the first step to a life of crime. Psychologists need to examine the girls and determine if they are adults or not in my opinion. My opinion is the same for other minors who commit a crime.


Would anyone even ask this if it wasn't taped? Kids misbehave and yes sometimes very badly and it's heartbreaking to see but justice needs to be more than a gut reaction out of emotion
Reply:yes and the person filming should get the harshest punishment for saying "there's only 17 seconds left, make it good"
Reply:THIS IS NOT A RACE ISSUE.....and yes they should be tried as adults
Reply:Honestly i think so. This wasn't just some school bulling this was full on fighting. I love the fact that in America people still think we decide on punishment from where we were raised. I can't say i don't agree to some extent but seriously. These 6 girls and 2 look out "men" beat a poor teen unconscious, what if they would have beat her to death? We need to learn that violence way. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that violence does not solve anything. We should solve our issues with our minds.


Haley
Reply:If they were minorities they would be in jail awaiting their trial as adults.





Thankfully, they're just a few innocent white kids who didn't mean any real harm (sarcasm)
Reply:Yes. People who do things like that have some serious issues and they should not be allowed in our society while they work out those issues. Plus, doing something like beating that girl for sport to be posted online does show the kind of awareness a person should have as an adult. They understand right from wrong and they are old enough to act in accordance with our laws and if they can't do that they should be punished like any other adult.
Reply:Studies have shown that if these kids were not white, they'd get stiffer penalties than they are likely to get.





If they are over 16, I think they should be tried as adults. I also think they're parents should be penalized.
Reply:I seen the video, and yes I do think they should be tried as adults, I think each person should do at least a year in jail and 5 years of supervised probation, the parents of the offenders should be given a large amount of community service as they should go into schools and speak against violence....The girls are very young but didn't appear to be remorseful at all...I hope they can be rehabilitated
Reply:My understanding was that all but one of them was in custody last night, and they were going to be charged as adults......and they should be.
Reply:i want to see the video, usually when you hear of "inner city" fights, you dont end up with the result of a mere concusion (admit it, im right), you usually end up with stabbings and shootings.





However, I feel any person who plots an attack on another person and is fully aware of their intent to do harm to another person SHOULD be tried as an adult.





So my answer is yes
Reply:I think what these girls did was cowardly. They all deserve jail time..I bet they won't be so tough then. That poor girl didn't even fight back. Those girls just felt a position of power over that girl and took complete advantage. I really hope they don't let this crime slide with community service and counseling, because that is what their lawyer is going for.
Reply:if they were a minority and males they`d be tried as adults for sure because it was planned. white females.... slap on the wrist and go home crying to mommy and daddy