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Celtics' support of Mass. bill to prosecute 18-20-yr.-olds as juveniles is ill-advised

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 A bill proposed by the Joint Judiciary Committee in Massachusetts would would prosecute offenders between the ages of 18 and 20 years of age as juveniles instead of adults. Here is their logic:

Daniel Laplante using the "unformed brain" defense

Advocates told lawmakers in the Joint Judiciary Committee that offenders in this age group do not have fully formed brains and cannot completely understand the implications of their actions.

"The adult brain, especially the pre-frontal cortex in particular is not fully developed until age 25 and why this is important is because it has implications for a young person's impulse control and self-regulation," said Attorney General Andrea Campbell who testified in favor of the bill.

Then why not raise that age limit to 25? Please excuse my sarcasm. I personally have seen the age of violent offenders drop precipitously over the past decades. How about this 6-year-old boy that shot his teacher:

6-year-old boy who shot his Virginia teacher said "I shot that b**** dead," unsealed records show

Daniel Laplante was 16 years old when he hid in the walls of of a home and terrorized - then kidnapped - the family. The Massachusetts Juvenile Court system failed to prosecute him, and after almost one year had passed, he was released on bail - broke into another home - raped and murdered the pregnant mother - drowned her two young children - then went to a birthday party, acting as if nothing had happened.

Laplante was very clever, and remains so at the prison where he is being held. He used the "unformed brain" defense to allow for a possible release after serving three, consecutive 15-year terms. He originally was given three consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole.

I love the Boston Celtics and have tremendous respect for Jaylen Brown. But their support of such a bill is - at very least - ill-advised. Please reconsider! 

 Photo credit: Shawn Kelly and Joe Turner




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