It is two different conversations. I am not talking about court. I am not talking about trial. I am not talking about punishment.
What I am talking about is the possible reasons why it happened in the first place. I never said anyone deserved special treatment. These are all kneejerk reactions and speak to exactly what I mean when I say that we tend to ignore and not talk about mental illness when it comes to malignant acts and violent crime.
We go all black and white and start throwing simplistic terms around like "evil" "bad seed". It's too easy.
Yes the actions are evil....but what compelled them? What contributed to all of this disordered thinking and these horrific antisocial actions?
As far as punishment and court: To your point about age: Did you know that your brain is not done developing until you are 26 years old? Do I think 12 year olds should be tried as adults? No. No more than I think an adult should be tried as a juvenile, or No more than I think a mentally ill person that knew right from wrong should get off after committing a murder. These girls should do a serious amount of time in a juvenile facility like the juveniles they are. Whether you think they are inherently evil or not.
I take mental illness very seriously. My family is ripe with it. It's not a knee jerk reaction on my part. Just as many people are dismissing the fact that these kids could just be evil, and will only accept that mental illness led them to do it.
I think there is a fine line when discussing mental illness (and I agree, the discussions need to happen) and excusing behavior. Plenty of people try to blame an illness and not a person.