Others might be lenient,
but I believe that anyone (child or adult) who commited a murder crime should be serve lifetime jail sentence.
You are the killer who take away someone's life, then you should be behind bars for the rest of your life.
One life for one life. You take away someone 'rights' to live, then you should be in jail until the day you died.
Hey, jail in USA is not bad OK! I grow up in a Communist country before I came to USA, and I can guarantee you, jail in USA is like heaven. You are in jail but still be treated as human, still can watch TV, still can eat, still can play basketball ... etc..
Compared to jail in dictatorship country like North Korea, China, where you being treated even worser than an animal.
So I support put this 12 year olds boy in jail for the rest of his life, in there let his guilts and conscience eats him up everyday.
Also, you stay behind bars, so others can be safe. Some killers got light sentences, and after they get out, they still have the urge to kill again.
And this 12 year old boys need psychologist help. Definately he is not mentally normal, how can you stab your bio-sister 21 times, terrible.
I also heard that he (the 12 year olds brother) refused to go to his sister vigil, it is true?
So sad the story turns out to be this way, it turns out that all those 'jump ahead to conclusion' comments in CCN page when this news first come out were all right, 'the brother did it!'