Summary
A 15-year-old boy was sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing a stranger, Muhammad Hassam Ali, after a brief conversation in Birmingham city center. The second boy, who stood by, was sentenced to five years in secure accommodation. Ali’s family expressed their grief, describing him as a budding engineer whose life was tragically cut short.
I have been discussing the issue. You failed, repeatedly, to acknowledge developmental psychology 101, that is, you didn’t discuss the issue. Thus, to work towards the possibility of a discussion about the original issue, I expanded the discussion to your person.
Because unless and until you realise that you’re doing your darndest to not look at relevant factors there can be no progress. And with this I’m actually out.
I have acknowledged developmental psychology, repeatedly. I have rejected your characterization of not-fully-mature frontal cortex as exculpatory.
You would have a point if we were talking about an average 4-year-old, or a developmentally delayed 12-year old. Not an uninstitutionalized 15-year-old. Even a rather slow 15-year-old has sufficient mental capacity to comprehend extreme violence, and all the evidence says this kid wasn’t extraordinarily stunted.
Immaturity is reasonable when discussing crimes involving substantially higher degrees of mental abstraction. Not intentional murder.
The approach you should be taking isn’t that he is immature. The approach you should be taking is one that would apply to even a mature adult.