Children committing violent crimes. An example from McMinnville, Tennessee.

Essay by KVossCollege, UndergraduateA+, March 2004

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Disturbing News

There is virtually nothing more disturbing than reading news about children committing violent crimes, especially those against their own parents. This kind of heinous crime was unheard of in years past. Today, it happens more and more often, and in nearly all parts of our country. Our children are now becoming monsters of our society to be greatly feared.

In the Tuesday, January 28, 2003 edition of The Tennessean newspaper, there are two articles in which children attempt to decide the fates of their parents. While comparing these two stories, I was deeply troubled by the fact that more and more children are committing horrendous acts of violence against the people who brought them into this world. I was also shocked that the children in these articles are virtually the same ages.

One article, on page 5A, comes from Santa Ana, California, where two young boys, ages 20 and 15, murder their mother in the fashion of a television program called The Sopranos, by cutting off her head and hands.

It is terribly troubling to know that television has such a profound effect on the minds of children. The article did not state the motive for this heinous event, so it leaves it to the reader to wonder what could possibly prompt children to commit such a crime against their own mother. Does television really influence young minds in this way, or is it our society's influence?

In McMinnville, Tennessee, a similar event took place. In this story, on page 2B of the same edition of The Tennessean, the victim was the father, but the children did not succeed in murdering him. However, they are facing the charge of attempted first-degree murder, considering the boys obviously planned the attack. The oldest of the boys, age 18,