Muhammad Hassam Ali, 17, was killed by stranger after a four-minute conversation in city centre

Summary

A 15-year-old boy was sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing a stranger, Muhammad Hassam Ali, after a brief conversation in Birmingham city center. The second boy, who stood by, was sentenced to five years in secure accommodation. Ali’s family expressed their grief, describing him as a budding engineer whose life was tragically cut short.

  • Rivalarrival@lemmy.todayEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    You failed, repeatedly, to acknowledge developmental psychology 101

    I have acknowledged developmental psychology, repeatedly. I have rejected your characterization of not-fully-mature frontal cortex as exculpatory.

    You would have a point if we were talking about an average 4-year-old, or a developmentally delayed 12-year old. Not an uninstitutionalized 15-year-old. Even a rather slow 15-year-old has sufficient mental capacity to comprehend extreme violence, and all the evidence says this kid wasn’t extraordinarily stunted.

    Immaturity is reasonable when discussing crimes involving substantially higher degrees of mental abstraction. Not intentional murder.

    The approach you should be taking isn’t that he is immature. The approach you should be taking is one that would apply to even a mature adult.