Girls could get life in prison for taping beating

[Mike87]

Suspects in video beating could get life in prison - CNN.com

Good, jail the sick punks.

[Rew]

I read about this last night and almost started a topic in here myself about it.

What causes otherwise normal teenaged girls to engage in such inhuman brutality as this? It's easy to blame the parents, but I think that's very unwise (and smacks of witch-hunting) unless there's clear evidence of such--for instance the parents of the one girl who opened their home to this event, as well as at least one parent who lied to the media in trying to defend her daughter. Other than that, though, for all we know the parents could be just as shocked as the rest of the world and in inconsolable grief over their daughters being able to carry out such an atrocious act.

Other than that, this is just shocking...and appalling. Those girls were laughing it up when first arrested, but over time they're going to realize the gravity of their decision and realize they just chose to throw their entire lives away over a petty quarrel with one other girl (who very likely wasn't even a threat to them). Think about it: no college, no boyfriends or husbands, no job, no future. All over a MySpace/txting squabble. If they really disliked that girl that much, was she worth throwing their lives away over?

Those are just my preliminary ruminations on the subject.

[Chencheya]

For the level of impudence in which these girls called over this girl, luring her over and then casually beating the **** out of her for 30 minutes while she was utterly defenceless, I think life in jail would be a good example to make of them, instead of all the tapped wrists and waggled fingers I'm used to hearing such vicious little brutes getting. Hopefully if they get life, it'll make some example of the law and makes little ****s like these think twice about about the consequences of their actions. ****ers. I think it's a distinct lack of concern for the consequences of actions that encourage people to act like this, that they don't fear repercussions for what they do. The more lax, the more impudent because they believe they more or less 'get away with it'.

PS: Sorry about the swearing in my post. Things like this really just... anger me beyond belief.

[Rew]

Originally Posted by Asmodeus

For the level of impudence in which these girls called over this girl, luring her over and then casually beating the **** out of her for 30 minutes while she was utterly defenceless, I think life in jail would be a good example to make of them, instead of all the tapped wrists and waggled fingers I'm used to hearing such vicious little brutes getting. Hopefully if they get life, it'll make some example of the law and makes little ****s like these think twice about about the consequences of their actions. ****ers. I think it's a distinct lack of concern for the consequences of actions that encourage people to act like this, that they don't fear repercussions for what they do. The more lax, the more impudent because they believe they more or less 'get away with it'.

PS: Sorry about the swearing in my post. Things like this really just... anger me beyond belief.

You have essentially said what I was too polite to say even last night when I first read of this atrocity and was angered beyond belief.

[andi]

They could get life, but they won't.

If they're tried as adults, a life sentence is the maximum they could ever get. But even then, almost all life sentences in the US are indeterminate life sentences, which means that a person can easily qualify for parole after 15 years in jail, and even less than that if they behave while they're incarcerated.

I say jailtime is totally in order, since this crap goes on constantly. And seriously, if you're dumb enough to post a video of you committing felonies online, then you deserve to be punished even more than normal. XD

[Flames of Valor]

We know their names, I am waiting for some people to go to their houses and beat the hell out of them.

When the girl that was beaten started getting beaten she should have started picking up objects and throwing **** all over the place. Then got to the door and ran, but I don't know how things went down of if that was an option. Those stupid kids need to all be beaten next to death then jailed. Sick, just sick.

[Margar]

Life in prison?
that WON'T happen, but the scare of facing life in behind bars may help put some fear and humility in those dumb b**ches.
sub-human. they should be sent to a kennel. that's what they diserve.

[lavvy]

Originally Posted by Flames of Valor

We know their names, I am waiting for some people to go to their houses and beat the hell out of them.

When the girl that was beaten started getting beaten she should have started picking up objects and throwing **** all over the place. Then got to the door and ran, but I don't know how things went down of if that was an option. Those stupid kids need to all be beaten next to death then jailed. Sick, just sick.

Dude, she was getting pelted with feet, it is hard to do anything but curl up in a ball when people are beating you up!

Take it from someone who knows, it is not like the movies where the person getting 7 shades of **** kicked out of them gets up and defeats them all.

Your brain goes into "protect yourself" mode, and that tells you to cover your face most of the time, not get up and start throwing things.





And for some input, people who do this should have the same thing done to them...see what that feels like.

Most likely, if they go to jail, they will get that treatment from the rest of the prisoners

[Mike87]

Originally Posted by Flames of Valor

We know their names, I am waiting for some people to go to their houses and beat the hell out of them.

When the girl that was beaten started getting beaten she should have started picking up objects and throwing **** all over the place. Then got to the door and ran, but I don't know how things went down of if that was an option. Those stupid kids need to all be beaten next to death then jailed. Sick, just sick.

She was beaten until she lost consciousness and I believe they had lookouts at the door so there was no place to run.

[Rew]

For the record, I didn't watch much of the video, but from what little my brother showed me, there appeared to be long breaks in the beating when the victim and her assailants would shout at each other--during which the victim would plead with her attackers or try to give her side of the story (regarding the online trash talk). I only recall seeing her cover herself when the beatings actually continued. They had to beat her intermittently for a half hour before she eventually lost consciousness (but they also knocked her unconscious originally before the taping by slamming her headfirst into a wall, then started the taping and beatings when she woke up). I say all that to say that she had the opportunity to fight back, and it's very noteworthy that she didn't.

Also, regarding this:

Originally Posted by Flames of Valor

We know their names, I am waiting for some people to go to their houses and beat the hell out of them.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all six of those girls in a county jail right now, not at home?

I also agree that an actual life sentence is very unlikely for them. However, they will be sent away for a long time (10 years maybe?), which will have the effect of ruining them for life. They will miss out on the rest of their teens and most of their 20s. By the time they come out, no college will want to accept them, and no company will want to hire them. They will in all likelihood experience profound ostracization from friends and family members in the meantime, such that they will have almost no one to turn to whenever they are returned back to society. Not to mention all the psychological and (very likely) physical abuse that they'll endure during their time in prison. And all that suffering and loss just so they could have their lulz over a petty internet fight that took place when they were in high school? I continue to be dumbfounded at some of my fellow human beings sometimes.

[Cody]

people who do this should have the same thing done to them...

Those stupid kids need to all be beaten next to death

So wait, you find it perfectly acceptable to beat and torture some defenseless girls because they beat up this one girl, yet their beating up some girl over internet insults makes them horrible immoral freaks? This is quite the double-standard.

Unless you are saying that the beating of that girl is perfectly normal and that the only thing that makes them sick freaks is that they overreacted (possibly, we haven't seen the insults in question) to insults.

I think that the beating was terrible myself, but I don't think that judgment should be passed by people who seem equally happy to do the exact same thing.

[Alaik]

Originally Posted by Rew

I read about this last night and almost started a topic in here myself about it.

What causes otherwise normal teenaged girls to engage in such inhuman brutality as this? It's easy to blame the parents, but I think that's very unwise (and smacks of witch-hunting) unless there's clear evidence of such--for instance the parents of the one girl who opened their home to this event, as well as at least one parent who lied to the media in trying to defend her daughter. Other than that, though, for all we know the parents could be just as shocked as the rest of the world and in inconsolable grief over their daughters being able to carry out such an atrocious act.

I think that brutality is a sign, not necessarily of the results of poor parenting, though that is certainly a factor as well, but primarily of human nature. This sort of thing is not a recent occurance on earth. As Ecclesiastes states, " There is nothing new under the sun." What we're seeing here is the same brutality humans have been partaking in for thousands of years, from ancient barbaric cultures to things like fraternity initiation ceremonies. I think it's when things like this happen that those who witness it should be willing to sit back and consider the possibility that the blame simply belongs to those who have done the deed. Placing responsibility upon those who commit wrong is a lost principle in today's relativistic culture.

Originally Posted by Rew

All over a MySpace/txting squabble. If they really disliked that girl that much, was she worth throwing their lives away over?

Is that really the question? There is the possibility that, in their minds, it was worth it. If you base your ethics solely on personal benefit, that can lead to atrocities just like this.

[lavvy]

Originally Posted by Cody

So wait, you find it perfectly acceptable to beat and torture some defenseless girls because they beat up this one girl, yet their beating up some girl over internet insults makes them horrible immoral freaks?

Yes, actually.


Cody, have you ever been 'kicked in' for a stupid reason? If you have, you would want the same thing to happen to those that did it to you.


Oh, I never said I was not immoral, I think I am! Because I want to see those girls put through the same thing.
If it did happen (not like it ever will) I would most probably laugh at their pain.
I would not give two ****s about 'morals'


If you wen't through a beating for pointless reasons (as I have) you would understand the feeling you get when **** all happens to the jerk-offs responsable

[Rew]

Originally Posted by Cody

So wait, you find it perfectly acceptable to beat and torture some defenseless girls because they beat up this one girl, yet their beating up some girl over internet insults makes them horrible immoral freaks? This is quite the double-standard.

Unless you are saying that the beating of that girl is perfectly normal and that the only thing that makes them sick freaks is that they overreacted (possibly, we haven't seen the insults in question) to insults.

I think that the beating was terrible myself, but I don't think that judgment should be passed by people who seem equally happy to do the exact same thing.

This brings up an intriguing question: namely the role of retributive justice in a scenario such as this. You are very much correct in asserting that anyone who wishes to beat these girls as they beat Victoria is no better off than the girls they want beaten. Yet at the same time, if those girls go to prison and end up beaten as badly as Victoria themselves, it's hard to deny that there is a kind of justice to it (in a way that clearly was not the case when they beat up Victoria). Is this a balancing of the scales or just stooping to their level?

I have already implied in my posts above that the worst of the punishment for these girls neither should nor will come from anything physical (although they might or might not face that from their inmates) but rather from losing their respective futures from this one crime. They've lost their years, which will be spent in prison (for however long, even if not for life), as well as any potential careers they might've otherwise had. Moreover, they lose the contact of friends and family and have in all likelihood lost many many friendships and gained enmity from family, loved ones, and even complete strangers from all around the world who've seen the news.

I personally believe that while there is a place for retributive justice, I believe a higher form of justice is restorative, or reconciliatory, justice. I think the attackers here should be made to suffer and undergo loss until they show genuine signs of repentance and apologize to the girl, even offering to repair some of the damage that they'd done (hospital bills and the like). Of course I'm painting an idealized portrait and is no more likely to happen than Marvin from my avy coming over to my house to play Four Swords with me. But since we're dealing in terms of ideal justice here, it's no more or less likely to happen than those who are calling for the justice system to beat those girls into a bloody pulp either. It's merely what my internalized view of justice would look like if ever actualized.

Originally Posted by Alaik

I think that brutality is a sign, not necessarily of the results of poor parenting, though that is certainly a factor as well, but primarily of human nature. This sort of thing is not a recent occurance on earth. As Ecclesiastes states, " There is nothing new under the sun." What we're seeing here is the same brutality humans have been partaking in for thousands of years, from ancient barbaric cultures to things like fraternity initiation ceremonies. I think it's when things like this happen that those who witness it should be willing to sit back and consider the possibility that the blame simply belongs to those who have done the deed. Placing responsibility upon those who commit wrong is a lost principle in today's relativistic culture.

I quite agree here.

Is that really the question? There is the possibility that, in their minds, it was worth it. If you base your ethics solely on personal benefit, that can lead to atrocities just like this.

Whoa there, you misinterpret me! Ideally we should be fueled by a desire in all of our decisions to act for the greater good of all, both of ourselves and those around us. This is how I (ideally) try to act, and I'm sure many other charitable persons in the world. Indeed, the hope is that everyone posting in this thread shares that ideal, of acting for the good of all, and therefore doesn't even need to be mentioned in a thread like this--I just assumed it of all of us.

However, what I was doing above was attempting to get inside the depraved minds of those teens, trying to wrap my mind around why they would stoop this low. Even if one doesn't give a flying flip about doing good for anybody except oneself, and all one cares about is one's own ego and selfish desires, even so these actions still make no sense. I tried to get inside their head, but their actions were so notoriously short-sighted, that I couldn't even see the appeal of such despicable acts as these, even from the standpoint of self-aggrandizement.

So to sum up, most of us aspire to be good to all people. But even if we're selfish, throwing our lives away on a single high school quarrel by taking it out on the object of that quarrel still doesn't make any sense. Does that help clarify at all?

[Twilight Wolf]

This is absolutely disgusting. Who knew that high school girls could behave in such a brutal, sick way? I think it's great that they are being tried as adults. Hopefully they will get life inprisonment. Good riddance to them.

EDIT: Cody, I don't think that they should be beaten up themselves. That would make us as bad as them. I say let them rot in jail. Let them live with the knowledge that they ruined their own lives by pulling this atrocious stunt.

[LupinIII]

I saw the video, It disgusted me, These girls need to be locked up, Honestly, I dont think theyll get life, if they did people will protest in the streets and will begin to sympathize with them saying that its an unfair sentence and theyll forget that they nearly beat a girl to death. They'll probably get a 3-5 year sentence max.

[Ogmios22188]

They won't get life imprisonment, nor should they, but they do deserve to go to jail.

[Alaik]

Originally Posted by Rew

Whoa there, you misinterpret me! Ideally we should be fueled by a desire in all of our decisions to act for the greater good of all, both of ourselves and those around us. This is how I (ideally) try to act, and I'm sure many other charitable persons in the world. Indeed, the hope is that everyone posting in this thread shares that ideal, of acting for the good of all, and therefore doesn't even need to be mentioned in a thread like this--I just assumed it of all of us.

However, what I was doing above was attempting to get inside the depraved minds of those teens, trying to wrap my mind around why they would stoop this low. Even if one doesn't give a flying flip about doing good for anybody except oneself, and all one cares about is one's own ego and selfish desires, even so these actions still make no sense. I tried to get inside their head, but their actions were so notoriously short-sighted, that I couldn't even see the appeal of such despicable acts as these, even from the standpoint of self-aggrandizement.

So to sum up, most of us aspire to be good to all people. But even if we're selfish, throwing our lives away on a single high school quarrel by taking it out on the object of that quarrel still doesn't make any sense. Does that help clarify at all?

Oh, I see. My apologies for my incorrect assumption. I appreciate the clarification.

[Liquid Fire]

They deserve jail, with preferably violet butch prisoners who like to fight. It'd be the ultimate karma. My friend Nadia who lives pretty close to where this happened, shes in shock that people can be this vicious.

And their excuse was "she said **** about me on the internet" WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!? Slander doesn't justify battery!

As for life . . . sorry to be blunt but they shouldn't get life, its malicious, calculating and deserves a fitting punishment, this online fighting thing isn't their creation, so don't burn the puppet when the people pulling the strings are too blame, I read there are atleast 5 websites that are devoted to videos of girls fighting so its not like they are the fight, they are just the first big media central case of having planned and group attacked a girl and got caught.

Jailing the girls for life, may seem right to you because they are little *****es for having done what they did, but they did it to put onto the internet (I'm guessing for fame?) The girls deserve to get the **** kicked out of them but they don't deserve life.

[Ogmios22188]

I can't help but find it a little funny that so many of you are exclaiming "Oh, the horror! How can people be so cruel?", as if this is news to anyone. Poor suburban cheerleader gets beat up and it's posted on the internet and the perpetrators deserve life in prison, yet I'm sure there are plenty of other things you read or see that you hardly bat an eye at. Not to discount the nature of the crime, but there are worse things that have been done that I'm sure plenty of people haven't been so vigilant about.