Youth, 13, Charged With 128 Felonies

Andrew Riley, aged 13, is charged with 128 felonies following a crime spree that lasted over a year.

As an educator, I have seen first hand, hard core cases similar to this one.

I don't know all the specifics, but can make some generalizations about this "young man."

1. He has been a discipline problem in school, from a very early age.

2. His parents are uneducated and have very little experience in child rearing.

3. The home life is very poor.

4. The parents are too wrapped up in their own lives and take little interest in the lives of their children.

5. Alcohol and drugs are involved in the family at some level.

6. When this "young man" had problem with rules and authority in the past, the parents sided with their child and not the authorities.

7. Discipline was very weak in the family.

8. Spanking was not used as discipline.

9. The parents themselves had trouble with the law and authority in the past.

10. The "young man" has no fear in his life. Fear, whether real or imagined, is what keeps most children in line at an early age.

Be that as it may, the parents are in part ot blame for this. Yes, the "young man" must be held responsible for his actions, but so must the parents.

I am willing to bet if the first time any of this started, one of the parents had taken him to the woodshed for an attitude adjustment, he might have had a chance.

However, society will feel sorry for this "young man" and try to rehabilitate him, at a great cost to the taxpayers.

It is too bad we can't go back to the days of the 1950s. I can guarantee is he had been raised like I was, he wouldn't dare pull the stuff he did.

Trash is trash, no matter what the age, gender, and race. This kid might be considered white trash, but that would give white trash a bad name.

Rehabilitation might be the correct course to take, but I don't see it having a positive outcome.

Look for this "young man" on "COPS" or in the death chamber in the future. Yes, that is a harsh statement, but experience has taught me that some people cannot be turned for the better.

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