Did You Say "Role Models?"

If you haven't been reading about a certain murder trial in Minnesota, you've been missing out on a ethical/moral dilemma. During the Thanksgiving holidays in 2012, two young teenagers were shot and killed while robbing a 63 year-old man in ill health. It was reportedly the third time the pair had targeted the victim's home. When police searched their car parked a short distance from the house that became their last stand, they found prescription drugs and other loot from another home they had robbed the day before. Prosecutors want the jury to believe the two youths were just after some quick drugs, but the first to feel the lead of the homeowner's gun had in fact left the kitchen and entered the basement looking for God only knows what. Sounds like some really nice kids, doesn't it?

Lest you think the duo was known to police before their demise, think again. These were no urban gangsters, but a pair of middle class first cousins. The boy was 17, the girl 16, and both were considered "role models" in their high school. That's right, role models. The prosecution is seeking to portray them as a bored pair who had lost their way and totally undeserving of the multiple bullets that riddled their bodies.

How do we feel? Up until the homeowner saw fit to inflict a final head shot to finish them off, we pretty much support his handling of the situation. Shattered kneecaps should be common on the job hazards for such little punks. So let's say the homeowner could have held the pair, called authorities, and ended the afternoon robbery with all participants alive and kicking--just how would these role models have been handled in Minnesota courts? We're not sure of Minnesota laws, but in Alabama they could have sought...and probably gotten...Youthful Offender status.

And is there a point to discussing a trial taking place hundreds of miles away in the frigid clime of a prairie state? Yes, we're about to compare two very different local youths who went over to the dark side, but in the interim, we'd like our readers' opinions on the two Minnesota home invaders. What would you have done? What should be the homeowner's fate? We welcome all comments.



Shoalanda