Hey Madman. Okay, I definitely didn't intend this thread to go this direction. But...

Okay why did I post the thread, you ask? Look at the headline I gave it. It is sad. Tragically sad. And yes, all men are inherently evil, including me, all pastors, the Pope, Rev. Billy Graham, Mother Theresa...every last one of us. That's not to say we're incapable of good actions. But by nature, if given the choice to do good or evil, our propensity will almost without fail lean towards the evil. Thank Adam and Eve. It's the reason Jesus came to earth. To save mankind from destruction brought upon himself by choosing to stray from God's intended path.

Romans 3:23
"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

That's the beauty of the Gospel, dude. We were destined for destruction, and God simply couldn't sit by and let it happen. He had to throw us a life-preserver. It's up to us to grab the thing. His name is Jesus.

Okay, so I'll repeat myself here. In fact, I'll quote myself here:

"I'm in no way giving this kid an excuse. There is no way in any context that his actions would be excusable. Period. He deserves the harshest punishment for what he has done. Lock him up. His actions prove he is a menace and a true danger to all of us."

So no, I'm not giving this kid excuses. He screwed up in an unimaginable way. Horrible beyond words. Pure evil. Lock him up and do not let him out. But I guess one of my thoughts is, this is an evidence of what danger the destruction of the family unit causes in society. Man was not intended to live without a family. Man was designed to have a mother and a father around him to teach him and love him. Without those, he becomes little more than an animal.

Do some research. Click here to read some of the havoc fatherlessness causes in a child's life...

http://www.childrensjustice.org/fatherlessness2.htm

Madman, I respect you and I respect your opinion and certainly your anger towards this kid. I am in no way trying to justify his actions. What he did was wrong, wrong, wrong and regardless of his upbringing, he still must and should be held accountable for his actions. No one made him carry a gun. No one made him shoot. No one made him join a gang. He did. He may have had influences in certain directions, but heck, who among us didn't? I didn't have a dad. I had drugs all around me. By all measures, I should be a total screw-up living under a bridge somewhere. But by God's grace alone, I am not. And that's why this is so sad. It didn't have to be. I think mine_man said it well. Read his post.