Sending children to prison

Label me a bleeding heart liberal, or a compassionate fiscal conservative, but the 30 year sentence for Chris Pittman just doesn't sit right with me. This boy was 12 years old when killed his grandparents with a shotgun at close range. Aside from his age Pittman was prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft, a factor the defense argued contributed to the murders.

At age 12 we don't believe our citizens are old enough to vote, drive a car, drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, purchase certain music or video games or attend certain movies. We have these laws because we don't believe children like Chris Pittman can determine right from wrong. How then can we hold a 12 year old as responsible as an adult for murder, without consideration of the circumstances? Logic would dictate we can't, but for some reason our legal system has decided we can.

When Chris Pittman leaves prison he will be 42 years old. His incarceration will do little to benefit society. It seems the sole beneficiary will be Pfizer who can now delay having to contend that Zoloft doesn't lead people to violent behavior. I realize that the execution of two people demands consequences irrespective of age, but it's important that age is a factor in determining the punishment irrespective of the crime.