Who's to Blame?

[FirstSunday33ad]

Father:

Son, you have been breaking the Law with impunity. You continuously steal, lie, cheat and rob. I have told you to stop repeatedly and have done everything short of throwing you out to get you to change your behaviour. I have always bailed you out of trouble whenever needed. Yet, you insult me, destroy my house, spit at me, ruin my belongings and treat me with contempt. Every time I have reached out to you with tenderness, you have slapped my hand away and spit in my face. You’re always willing to take the gifts I offer, but refuse to obey my rules or show any respect.

Well that stops today. I am turning you out. The next time you get into trouble, I won’t be there for you. Though you may be arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to die for your crimes I will do nothing to help you. When that day comes, you will beg and plead with me on bended knees to save your life, you will cry and tell me how much you love me through your tears, but I will not stop the execution and I will not spare your life.

Son:

Screw you old man and the horse you road in on. I don’t need you and never did and it will be a cold day in Hell before I ask you for anything.

{Son leaves and later kills a man during a robbery. He is caught by the police, tried by the courts and sentenced to die by a jury. He is on death row. He calls his father on the phone and begs and pleads with his father to intervene to save his life. The father refuses to even say a word and simply hangs up. The son is put to death that night}

In the above fable, who is to blame for the son’s death? The Father, The Son, The Police, The Court, The Jury or The Executioner?

Why?

[themuzicman]

The Son.

He committed a crime that he knew (or should have known) would result in the death penalty if convicted.

The story about the father is extra baggage, not related to the actions of the son.

The courts, jury and executioner were simply doing their duty.

Michael

[Pilgrim]

Yes

[Aristotle]

If one reads into the fable, one should notice that the father never really did anything to help his son. Bailing him out constantly without letting his son face the consequences of his actions. Even though the son is responsible for his actions, perhaps the father's influence should be considered into the involved decisions the son made that led up to such events.

[NoeticPenguin]

Society.

Society is at blame for failing to play a part in this young mans upbringing, and it is at blame for executing him. If we must place blame, then all are guilty. Not just the son or the father, but everyone in that society.

[Kain]

Perhaps biology is to blame. The 'son' in this story has a history of antisocial tendencies, hinting at a personality disorder.

Perhaps the father, instead of bailing his son out all the time should have considered corrective measures; punishment, disciplinary schools, psychologists.

[Aristotle]

Interesting point Kain. At what point was society at fault and what should it have done?

Interesting, I didn't think about the psychological possibilities! Nice eyes/mind all :D

[Kain]

Today @ 03:04 AM post located here
Aristotle:

Interesting point Kain. At what point was society at fault and what should it have done?

Interesting, I didn't think about the psychological possibilities! Nice eyes/mind all :D

I never said society was at fault for the condition of the boy.

When it comes to the crime of murder, there are several responsible: The boy for committing murder during a robbery, society for allowing death sentences, the jury (who represent the society) and the executioner.

They must each be held accountable for their respective crimes. It is hard to pin anything on society as it is fluid, instead the focus must be on the individual members of the society (in this case, the judge/jury/executioner). In the sample story above, society proved to be no better than the boy.

Society can and does take corrective measures, but it cannot be successful on all occasions. Sure, the boy should have been locked up, disciplined, perhaps given psychological therapy. If found to have an antisocial personality disorder, it would be a safe assumption to keep him behind bars or a medical hospital with continued therapy until (if ever) improvements become visible, without bail.

However, in the unique society portrayed in the sample, it seems this boy was bailed out all the time which means he was not held accountable for his indiscretions. In this, the mistake lies solely with the father. It is like giving a man free food all his life while telling him that he has to work for it, but not enforcing it...and then suddenly stopping.

Now you may say that some never improve and nothing we do can change them. That is certainly true, but it is not proper to give up. A solution may be too late for an individual, but we continue researching for a solution. We have already made many advances in the psychological fields researching the criminal mind.