Reply #59: Respectfully disagree. [View All]

[H2O Man]

In my state, an 18-year old caught having sex with a 15-year old will often carry the label of "sex offender." I worked on a case where a kid who was 25 months older than the girl he had sex with was given a life sentence for this. His only prior offense was being among a group of kids caught with booze and pot.

I also worked on numerous cases of sex offenders who fit the description of a predator that deserved the label. There are distinct advantages to considering each case on an individual basis, rather than relying on labels.

In the case mentioned in the OP, it is possible the offender is indeed a sociopath. But such a diagnosis would depend upon much more than the act of murder. Most sociopaths are not killers. And attempting to label a 14-year old as such is generally a risky venture.

In the majority of legal cases, a mental illness (and sociopathy is not one) is not used as a defense. It can be used as a mitigating factor when a judge sentences a defendant. Likewise, the age of a defendant is also considered a factor in many cases, in terms of how a case is prosecuted, and how someone's sentence is determined.