The prospect of even 50+ years in prison means that JO would be in his 60s, at a minimum, I suppose. If he got "only" 2 consecutive 30 year sentences alone he would be 74-- and that doesn't include the attempted murder charges.
He will have no substantial education, no job sills, no practical knowledge of living in society, no substantial friendships or relationships, no children, and his immediate family will be dead by then. IMO, he should serve life with no possibility of release. I don't think it's possible to rehabilitate and adequately prepare an old man for release from a lifetime in prison for double murder. I think it's more humane to charge him as an adult, recommend consecutive sentences, and just plan for his entire life in prison without the possibility of release. At least then he, and everyone else, would know what the "plan" was, and could make some kind of peace with what has happened going forward. IMO, the sooner the court proceedings are concluded, the sooner he can start to settle into his new life in prison. That's the absolute best we can do in this kind of situation, IMO. I'm sure there are folks that think he should be treated as a juvenile in family court, but I think these circumstances are simply too egregious for that.
I do expect his attorney to try for a "mental defect" defense, though I don't expect it to be successful. There is just too much evidence that he knew right from wrong, and premeditated. That's the job of the attorney, though, to try everything.
I feel so bad for Jacob's family, and what they are going through, and the teacher who was injured, too. And JO's mom and grandparents. I simply can't imagine their pain and anguish. There was a story up earlier on the national news about the mother of the man who killed the Amish school children, and how the Amish and the killer's mother have blended their lives in the aftermath of the tragedy. I don't know if I could do what each of them have done, but it does seem to be a healing experience for all of them. I think of the parents of Arcan Cetin, too, and their pain, and other families of killers. These acts of murder cause so much pain, for so many decades. It never ends.
Here is the story about the Amish killer's mom, for any interested.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/nation-world/national/article105397766.html
