19 December 2012

What to do with "Cruelty Boy"?

19 December 2012 | johnboy

The Canberra Times has details of a terrifying case seeking suitable care in the ACT system.

Here are some highlights:

the Education and Training Directorate has said the boy, who has homicidal fantasies quelled by medication, is not welcome back into mainstream schools

…

The boy spent about eight months on remand after expressing homicidal fantasies after his arrest for the animal cruelty offences earlier this year.

…

psychiatrists expressed the view the bright student with a high IQ could mask both his mental illness and the murderous fantasies because of his intellect.

He’s being put in the care of the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal which apparently is having to make provision for this kind of thing from scratch.

Join the conversation

All Comments

All Comments
Website Comments
Facebook Comments

LatestOldest

weeziepops11:49 am 20 Dec 12

Sorry if this has been asked and answered but what’s the dealio with his parents? Have they lost / signed over custody to the authoriteh?

Ben_Dover7:39 am 20 Dec 12

There is a secure unit at tech Brian Hennessy centre, is it unfair that he is hosted there until the public can be given reasonable assurance that they are safe from his “homicidal fantasies” and “animal cruelty”?

what_the12:52 am 20 Dec 12

DrKoresh said :

what_the said :

DrKoresh said :

Can’t he be made to understand why he can’t go around torturing people and animals? Surely a turn of the thumbscrews or two and some hot coals would help him see why he can’t hurt other people to get his jollies. Then maybe he should be taught that he’ll be caught and arrested for crimes like and that he is unlikely to be well suited to making friends in prison.

I don’t buy the irreparable psychopath, especially one with a high IQ, they just need to be taught why they can’t hurt others on an intellectual level, if they are unable to learn on an emotional one.

What a moronic statement! Been watching the news the last week? Think sitting that guy down to be taught by your methods would have helped or exacerbated the situation?

We’re not talking about a spree killer, we’re talking about a sadist. You’re the moron, if you’re comparing what happened in Colorado to this.

And it’s Conneticut.

You did notice the part in the article about homicidal tendencies right? And you think this is a tenuous link?

what_the12:48 am 20 Dec 12

DrKoresh said :

what_the said :

DrKoresh said :

Can’t he be made to understand why he can’t go around torturing people and animals? Surely a turn of the thumbscrews or two and some hot coals would help him see why he can’t hurt other people to get his jollies. Then maybe he should be taught that he’ll be caught and arrested for crimes like and that he is unlikely to be well suited to making friends in prison.

I don’t buy the irreparable psychopath, especially one with a high IQ, they just need to be taught why they can’t hurt others on an intellectual level, if they are unable to learn on an emotional one.

What a moronic statement! Been watching the news the last week? Think sitting that guy down to be taught by your methods would have helped or exacerbated the situation?

We’re not talking about a spree killer, we’re talking about a sadist. You’re the moron, if you’re comparing what happened in Colorado to this.

Yes because torturing animals has never been an indicator of any future killers has it now… I suggest you think this one through a bit better.

LSWCHP11:30 pm 19 Dec 12

Past behaviour is a good predictor of future behaviour, and we shouldn’t have to wait for a catastrophe to provide the clear evidence that all is not well with this bloke. So I’d be pretty happy he was secured in a nice, civilised and comfortable facility until a huge panel of experts all agreed that he was totally safe to be released back into the community. If that means he dies in an institution at the age of 99, then so be it. If he’s free to go when he’s 25 then so be it.

I’ve had suicidal ideations, and they scared the hell out of me.So hiis personal circumstances are no doubt sadder than hell,and it all sounds like a lose-lose situation, but I have 4 young children and I don’t want any of them to ever meet someone who has homicidal ideations.

DrKoresh9:04 pm 19 Dec 12

what_the said :

DrKoresh said :

Can’t he be made to understand why he can’t go around torturing people and animals? Surely a turn of the thumbscrews or two and some hot coals would help him see why he can’t hurt other people to get his jollies. Then maybe he should be taught that he’ll be caught and arrested for crimes like and that he is unlikely to be well suited to making friends in prison.

I don’t buy the irreparable psychopath, especially one with a high IQ, they just need to be taught why they can’t hurt others on an intellectual level, if they are unable to learn on an emotional one.

What a moronic statement! Been watching the news the last week? Think sitting that guy down to be taught by your methods would have helped or exacerbated the situation?

We’re not talking about a spree killer, we’re talking about a sadist. You’re the moron, if you’re comparing what happened in Colorado to this.

GardeningGirl7:28 pm 19 Dec 12

Roundhead89 said :

A Current Affair has done stories about an outback boot camp in the NT for problem kids. 60 Minutes earlier this year did a story about a boarding school in rural Victoria which is turning around the lives of dead-end kids with an intensive curriculum of English, Maths and sports training. I would suggest the young boy be directed towards those institutions because it is clear that local options for his care and development have been exhausted.

I wish there were more programs like that for some kids but it doesn’t sound like the answer for the one in the article.

shirty_bear said :

Ben_Dover said :

This is a truly tragic case and sadly there are no easy answers except to say that society cannot afford to have someone like this wandering around.

Fixed.

Agreed.

The 24×7 personal escort is an abysmal idea.
We got rid of all the asylums, didn’t we? So now the prison system has become a de facto. Which clearly isn’t good enough.
Apparently asylums are dreadful places, but society needs protecting from this champion.

I don’t see why modern compassionately run secure institutions for people society can’t have wandering around are impossible, but I suppose it’s cheaper for governments to say locking them up is a dreadful and old-fashioned idea.

TAD6:55 pm 19 Dec 12

That boy needs therapy. You’re a nut, you’re crazy in the coconut.

gazket5:31 pm 19 Dec 12

lock him up in one of those new bike cages. At least they will become usefull

MERC6004:41 pm 19 Dec 12

So he’s in the care of the civil and admin tribunal. So where is he then ? Locked up in their broom cupboard ?. Why not send him off to NSW. They would have a ‘suitable’ location for him. If they want big money for him, just remind them how bloody many of theirs are clogging up our hospitals and jails and what have youz.

Jim Jones3:24 pm 19 Dec 12

ScienceRules said :

DrKoresh said :

ScienceRules said :

DrKoresh said :

…

I don’t buy the irreparable psychopath, especially one with a high IQ, they just need to be taught why they can’t hurt others on an intellectual level, if they are unable to learn on an emotional one.

If only you were in charge of getting things done, eh? All our legal and mental health problems solved from the comfort of your armchair.

Wow, with a screen-name like yours you must be well acquainted with the hard and fast immutable laws of psychology, the most rigorous of all the sciences, hey? Can you care to enlighten philistines like us with a civilised perspective?

BTW, I like how you brought-up Alan Jones totally left-field, talk about a non-sequitur. But since you brought him up I would like to propose an RA equivalent of Godwin’s Law, with references to Alan Jones replacing those to Hitler, we can call it Alan’s Law or Koresh’s Rule of Thumb or something like that. Do I have any seconders?

You’re absolutely right, Doc – having a fondness for the scientific method and rational thinking means I know everything about all sciences. Just like the Professor on Gilligan’s Island.

My comment about Alan Jones was in response to the Alan Jones-like comment (from buzz819) about executing this young man because we don’t like the way he behaves. Hence the reference to Alan Jones. Quaint that you felt the need to comment on my comment about someone elses comment. Or is it that you were just miffed that it wasn’t about you? There goes me weilding my expertise in pop psychology again.

Don’t remember every saying that psychology was the “most rigerous” of sciences but I’m sure you can point out where I did that. Then I’ll respond to it.

So in summary – torture and execution of people is bad. Even if they are bad people. Yes, mental health and the law is complicated. We probably don’t get it right all the time. But we should endeavour to get better.

There you go, all laid out with no references to Hitler.

Dammit! And I got so close…

Yeah … but … this is RiotAct, so that’s the wrong response. The correct response is something along the lines of:

These people shuld be rounded up and shot
The justice system does nuffin
The gummint does nuffin
It’s impossible to go to jail in the ACT
Jails are just like hotels and all the criminals there are spoilt and they should be raped (they deserve it)

ScienceRules3:13 pm 19 Dec 12

DrKoresh said :

ScienceRules said :

DrKoresh said :

…

I don’t buy the irreparable psychopath, especially one with a high IQ, they just need to be taught why they can’t hurt others on an intellectual level, if they are unable to learn on an emotional one.

If only you were in charge of getting things done, eh? All our legal and mental health problems solved from the comfort of your armchair.

Wow, with a screen-name like yours you must be well acquainted with the hard and fast immutable laws of psychology, the most rigorous of all the sciences, hey? Can you care to enlighten philistines like us with a civilised perspective?

BTW, I like how you brought-up Alan Jones totally left-field, talk about a non-sequitur. But since you brought him up I would like to propose an RA equivalent of Godwin’s Law, with references to Alan Jones replacing those to Hitler, we can call it Alan’s Law or Koresh’s Rule of Thumb or something like that. Do I have any seconders?

You’re absolutely right, Doc – having a fondness for the scientific method and rational thinking means I know everything about all sciences. Just like the Professor on Gilligan’s Island.

My comment about Alan Jones was in response to the Alan Jones-like comment (from buzz819) about executing this young man because we don’t like the way he behaves. Hence the reference to Alan Jones. Quaint that you felt the need to comment on my comment about someone elses comment. Or is it that you were just miffed that it wasn’t about you? There goes me weilding my expertise in pop psychology again.

Don’t remember every saying that psychology was the “most rigerous” of sciences but I’m sure you can point out where I did that. Then I’ll respond to it.

So in summary – torture and execution of people is bad. Even if they are bad people. Yes, mental health and the law is complicated. We probably don’t get it right all the time. But we should endeavour to get better.

There you go, all laid out with no references to Hitler.

Dammit! And I got so close…

View more conversations

Featured Businesses

Mortgage Brokers

Clarity Home Loans

A passionate team of Canberrans helping other Canberrans secure their home loans. No frills, no commissions, no brainer.

Find out more

Electricians

True Connection Electrical

Since 2014, True Connection Electrical have been servicing residential and small commercial clients with reliable, trustworthy and top-quality electrical work.

Find out more