Playing with Matches

Posted on November 1, 2007 in Disasters Justice

I believe in atonement, the accepting of punishment for the sake of getting past the evil that one has done, the reintegration of the sinner back into society. Here’s a question. What do you set for this child?:

Prosecutors grappled on Wednesday with what charges, if any, to file against the 10-year-old boy who admitted he set a fire last week that charred more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes in northern Los Angeles County.

On the ranch northeast of Santa Clarita where the boy’s parents helped care for horses, people who knew him said he had no history of problems and was distraught about the destruction.

“He’s a child, and I certainly believe that he had no malice and I absolutely believe it was accidental,” said Denise Tomey, executive director of Carousel Ranch, which offers equestrian therapy for physically and mentally disabled children.

The boy had no connection to the program but had lived in a trailer on the property in the Agua Dulce area for about a year with his parents, one of whom is a ranch caretaker.

Tomey called the boy’s family “peaceful.”

Though fire officials said it was unlikely that the boy would face criminal charges, they said that his parents could possibly be held civilly liable for the damage. But the blaze caused millions of dollars in losses, and it is unclear whether his family could afford to pay even a fraction of that.

The boy, who has not been named by authorities, told investigators that he was playing with matches when he set fire to dry brush Oct. 21, a day when ferocious Santa Ana winds fueled fires throughout the region.

Then there is the additional question: we throw inner city children into juvenile hall for stealing 50 cent candy bars. By criminalizing petty theft and similar acts done without malice, do we make the problem worse?

Put this on your shoulders and think on it a bit.

Damn I hate revenge-based jurisprudence.

[tags]justice, juvenile justice, crime, punishment, wildfire, California wildfires, California fires, Buckweed fire[/tags]