I’ve been following this case/story closely since its inception and I’ve been studying this thread for 3 days. I’m awe struck at the intelligence & emotions everyone’s sincerely displaying. Sometimes the world seems so cold to me, plastic, self-centered & heartless that when I encounter genuinely good people it rekindles my faith in humanity & warms the marrow of my bones.
There are many troubling aspects to this case, most of which will probably/hopefully be resolved through investigation, litigation & people like us sharing our sentiments, but it’s also going to require the elapsing of time.
I don’t want to minimize the deep sense of sadness I feel for the family & friends of poor little Elizabeth Olten, or the emotional pain I feel when I let my imagination take me to her final moments; I’m crying as I write this because I’m reminded of what Elizabeth Olten must have endured--God bless the Oltens.
However, I pray that the truth seeking process which encompasses the laws, judicial system, courts & a trial which Alyssa Bustamante will most likely embark upon is just/fair and affords her due process.
What I’m reading in the news severely disturbs me. I find it appalling that a 15 year old girl, 3 years shy of being an adult, who physically doesn’t have the capacity to think like an adult because her neurological pathways, grey matter, neurological transmitters & receptor sites aren’t even developed yet can be tried as an adult. I can understand 1 year shy but 3 years! Sounds more like a vendetta coupled with the lack of ability to want to explore & correct the causes & conditions which prompted AB to allegedly commit this crime; I was taught to hate the sin not the sinner but I forget this philosophy sometimes too & get reminded of it by sods such as myself.
I hope the judge that levied this ridiculous ruling of trying her as an adult changes their mind & tries her as the child/adolescent she is. AB should be afforded a chance to be rehabilitated in the juvenile system rather than the punishment & retribution that predicates the motive of dooming her to an adult non correctional facility. At best she gets rehabilitated in Missouri’s juvenile system that is recognized nationally for its success & low recidivism rate; at worst she is not safe to be returned to society and kept institutionalized. However, sending her to prison for life with out the possibility of parole right out of the gate not only does AB an injustice, but deprives all of us from knowing if she is/was just a mentally ill adolescent that could have been cured through God’s mercy & grace which in my view is the root of rehabilitation & the intent of the people that make rehab possible. I’m concerned they are going to make Alyssa a victim too, more so than I think she already is.
I’m not even going into the mitigating circumstances associated with Alyssa’s history, background & the drugs she was taking on top of an already underdeveloped adolescent mind/brain which also substantiates why this little girl should not be tried as an adult.
Peace be with you.