Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 7, 1990 TAG: 9007100420
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It was apparently an unprovoked, senseless attack on an old woman. She says she made the mistake of allowing the youngsters to come into her home because "they seemed nice."
From her hospital bed, the victim told authorities that the children had said "we're going to kill you." Then they beat her with rocks and sticks and discussed getting dirt to cover her up because they thought she was dead.
It's hard to recall children of such a tender age being accused of such a vicious crime. Indeed, the 6-year-old may be the youngest person ever charged with assault in Virginia and among the youngest in the United States.
A lot of the facts have yet to be ascertained, including the degree to which the 6-year-old was a participant. Martinsville authorities, including officials of the juvenile court and the social services department, are investigating. But whatever the investigation may reveal, it's hard to imagine the overwhelming mystery being solved: Why did this happen?
Clearly, our system of justice is inadequate for handling violent children. An adult convicted of a malicious wounding charge can receive up to 20 years in prison. Under Virginia law, children under 10 cannot even be turned over to the Department of Youth and Family Services and put in a detention facility. If the three Martinsville children are convicted, court officials say the major options would be to put them in foster-care homes or on probation, probably with court-ordered supervision and family counseling.
The response, meanwhile, from the youngsters' parents has been mixed. The mother of the 9-year-old has complained that neighbors in the federally subsidized apartment complex - where both the victim and her alleged attackers live - were looking at the children "like they criminals. But kids will be kids." This mother also said that people were looking at her as if she were to blame for her son's actions.
Yes, kids will be kids. Youngsters from all walks of life sometimes do bad things, even bizarre things. But 6-, 8- and 9-year-old kids don't go berserk and try to kill someone out of the blue as these youngsters are accused of doing. Somebody or something is to blame, and there must be accountability.
Experts throughout the country are seeing a disturbing trend: younger and younger children committing increasingly violent acts. There are any number of possible causes.
Ironically, Avis Brown says the children who attacked her had asked to come into her apartment so they could watch television. Violence fills the TV shows children watch, from news to Saturday morning cartoons. It's in the videotape movies and the movies shown in theaters.
Probably closer to the root cause of violence among children is the breakdown of the family and family values. More than 60 percent of all American children born today will spend time in a single-parent household; many homes are filled with domestic violence.
Meanwhile, venomous aggressiveness and physical force are on display in the schools, on the streets and on the playgrounds. Kids "act out" what they see - heedless of the pain they inflict - unless they have been instilled with a conscience and values that tell them it's wrong.
It is impossible to know the source of the trouble in the Martinsville case. Maybe it's too much television or maybe too little parental supervision. Maybe it's emotional problems or health problems - even something as simple as poor nutrition. Evil remains ultimately mysterious.
But something is obviously, drastically wrong.
Kids will be kids, but society must draw a line when it comes to violent behavior. It must send a clear message to youngsters - and to their parents - that violence is intolerable, and hurting old people is unthinkable.
by CNB