I know you don't or won't believe this but some people are born with a bend to being evil. Nothing can prevent it. It is the old nature vs nurture argument. Unless someone works with juveniles (or adults) in this situation, I don't think it can be comprehended that some people are just mean and some are truly evil. Counseling and therapy may make the public at large and the counselor think they are doing something to help but at age fifteen, forget it. These girls will likely grow up and continue their abuse toward children they have or are around.
Just call me jaded. I call it being realistic.
BOESP,
You don't know me as well as you thought!
I do believe
absolutely that we are all born with certain predispositions - towards good, towards evil and usually some of each is mixed into everyone of us. I don't think it's jaded to feel this way.
I do also believe that our environment - how we are regularly treated once we make it here - can and does play an important role in how we "deal" with what we innately come here with.
Nature and nurture are both important, imho.
That said, I have boundless hope for all humans - even the "worst" of us - and am incapable of writing anyone off. This doesn't mean I think dangerous people should roam free among us. This doesn't mean I think a few sessions of counseling can magically make people start using their powers for good and not evil. I may wear rose-colored glasses, but the head I wear them on is that of a realist.
Will these girls be able to turn themselves around in this lifetime and become loving, productive members of society? I believe the odds are against them - because of them and because of our society. But is there a chance that they could change - absolutely. I see miracles happen every day - I just don't have the prescience to know where they will happen next.
Eventually, these girls will get it, but I may never see that and I'm okay with that.
What to do with them in the meantime? We do the best we can - to keep society safe from their worst aspects and to help them outgrow their worst aspects. We balance out those two goals with the resources with have.
If I were in charge of punishment and rehabilitation, I definitely have an idea of how I would structure things, but I am on my way out the door for a date with my husband who is leaving the country for 3 weeks tomorrow....maybe I'll return to such weighty topics later!