Muderous Children

Murder: the unlawful killing of one human by another, especially with premeditated malice. Murder: an act thought only to be committed by psychotic adults. Murder: an act that most people think their loved ones can never be a victim of. Murder: an abhorrent act that most people never think their loved ones are capable of. The truth: murder can be committed by anyone, even if they are in the right state of mind. Someone you love can be the victim or the murderer.

Many believe that teenagers and children are not capable of a crime so heinous, but according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2004, 10.9 percent of all homicidal crimes were committed by people under the age of 18. Though this number had gone down significantly since 1976, the problem still remains: juveniles and adults still feel the need to harm others in reckless and malevolent ways. In many cases, the murderer is a teenager that seems as normal as any other teen, but underneath it all lurks the heart of a beast. Such was the case with Eric Smith and Derek Robie in 1993. 13 year old Smith followed and beat to death four year old Robie on the way to a recreation program both boys attended during the summer. Smith then choked and battered young Robie and had no remorse. After the attack, Smith went on his way acting as if nothing had ever happened.

When the investigation began, Smith was all too eager to help the local police department find Robie's killer. A police officer involved in the investigation had this to say of Smith's behavior during the investigation: "I would have to say that he enjoyed it. He was having a good time."

No matter how hard I try, I cannot figure out why a young boy would hurt an innocent child and then have no feelings of regret or remorse in him. Although I have gone over dozens of cases involving teenage murderers, I still can only come up with one possible reason for their actions: they are seeking attention. It doesn't matter if they have a personality disorder, are mentally handicapped, or whatever the case may be, I truly feel that all murder commited by a child is sparked by some degree of wanting attention. No matter how sweet or innocent they look, any child can kill another human being if they truly wanted to.

As in Smith's case. He grew up in a normal home and was seen as a "nice young man." Yet he chose to commit such a horrible, unforgivable crime against humanity. He chose to inflict this upon himself. Although Smith acted normal after the murder, that alone showed he was not "normal." Even though he may have a mental handicap, later in the case they came to find that Smith in fact knew what he was doing.

Since we can't go back and get Robie's life, why not try to make our future, and the future of our children a brighter and happier place to live?

All things considered, it is up to the parents to help raise children that know not to kill. It is up to the parents to be aware of a child's anger management problems and to help their children in any way they can so that their child and others do not become just another statistic.