Worldwide Problem of Domestic Child Abuse
Worldwide, the problem of domestic child abuse continues to be incredibly complicated. The typical outcome is that either children experience emotional trauma or grow up to commit abuse and violence against others. These abused children frequently end up killing themselves or their parents, which are referred to as parricide and suicide, respectively (Heide, 2013).
Common Traits of Kids who Commit Parricide
There are some traits that are frequent among kids who kill their parents as part of a criminal conduct. According to studies, these kids don't have any criminal histories, thus they don't pose a threat to society (Strong, 1988). Researches also suggest that their level of understanding and intelligence is higher as compared to other children who have had a healthy lifestyle. Their rage and aggression towards society do remain strong because they believe that other people know about the abuse at their homes but they either are not willing to do anything about it or they just can't help them. Once they are aware that there is no help and assistance available to them, their last resort is to take a life (Smith, 1993).
These studies and results will help us analyze Robert's behavior shared in the later part of this report.
Analyses of Richard's Statement
Richard was 17 years old when he committed the crime of killing his mother over a petty issue that aggravated into a violent argument. He was charged with a first-degree murder in an adult court rather in a juvenile court. This remains debatable when the case is more inclined towards social and psychological causes, and thus determining its classification is controversial just like Richard's case (Strong, 1988).
However, the one important thing that is distinctive in this particular case from other parricide cases is that Richard did not kill his abusive father. What his father did to Richard and his sisters made them enter into a psychological trauma and depression. All the children were emotionally stressed out and none of them had any way to vent out their frustration.
As Richard states that even in school, he never participated in any kind of sports or any other activity. His little participation in miscellaneous things made him more to be to himself and not use the negative energies that were building within him to be utilized as a positive energy somewhere else in the society or school setting.
Moreover, as per their family characteristics and the statements given by Richard, it is very obvious that their understanding of things were limited to their siblings and family setup. This is reflected from Richard's low level of understanding of crimes, prisons and legal proceedings.
The moment he committed the crime; it should be kept in mind that he was prepared for a suicide. However, what triggered him were the constant arguments by his mother. Nevertheless, it should be noted that his mother was also a victim of his father's aggressive behavior and Richard was aware of that. Thus, as a 17-year old boy he was mature enough to realize and differentiate the wrong from the right.
On the contrary, he has been a victim of psychological terrors from a very young age. That means he must have developed some serious mental disorders. In the interviews, however, nothing of that sort can be identified. Though, he was given psychological treatments and counseling. From his statements, he doesn't appear to be regretting the crime he had committed. He doesn't even appear to be realizing that his mother, who was also a victim of her husband's traumatizing behavior, didn't deserve to die like that.
Literature shows that children who have had an abusive past and who end up killing one of the family members, should have special legal proceedings and their sentences should not be based on standard legal clauses (Heide, 2013). With lower understanding and knowledge of criminal offenses, Richard had no idea about legal activities. In this scenario, if Richard was expecting a non-adult charge and a less severe consequence, he wasn't absolutely wrong (Smith, 1993).
Experts argue that when such crimes are identified and the children are found to be guilty, factors such as social family pressures must be taken into consideration and sentences must be fashioned in a way that balance the case in review in terms of the defendant, social matters, and justice system. This is because theoretically, it has been stated that child abuse itself is not acceptable (Smith, 1993). The society reacts to these abuses in a denial and eventually when out of depression, the child commits a subsequent crime; the society again reacts with a shock. It is as tragic as it sounds.
It is noticeable that Richard appears to be an intellectual man but that does not mean that his mental stability has been strong. You can't judge and estimate the psychological capacity of a person with such history. It is also very obvious that Richard had no help from his family once he was suspected of the murder. He had no one to support him or make him aware of the consequences of his action. And therefore, he was manipulated by the lawyer appointed to him who told him that his sentence could be reduced to as low as eight years. Later on, he realized that nothing of such sort was possible and the judge will not reduce the charges like that. He appears to have lost faith in not only his family, which is evident from his conversations with his older sister who didn't advise him what he should do, but also the legal system and the societal setting. He left himself vulnerable to the hands of the lawyers and the system.
References
Kathleen M. Heide, Understanding Parricide: When Sons and Daughters Kill Parents, Oxford University Press, (2013).
Ruth Ann Strong, Patricide: Children who kill their parents, California State University, (1988).
Susan C. Smith, Abused Children Who Kill Abusive Parents: Moving Toward an Appropriate Legal Response, 42 Cath. U. L. Rev. 141 (1993).
