One of the kids lives in a rental house juat down the block. This house has been trouble from the start. The word is that they want to try them as adults.

suspect is a juvenile , one slap on the wrist instead of the two they give adults

Too bad we don't have capital punishment in this state!

it gets me so ticked off that a 16 yo would beat the crap out of an 81yo man instead of getting a job and my boy who is 8 WANTS to have a job to make money.

we lived next to Willowstone Park when we lived in B.P. and it was a quiet area. that is until '95 when some newer housing went in. lower cost and the kids were a problem. started having fights at night in the park.
we went from taking night walks by ourselves to taking night walks with the lab/chow mix. when i considered the need for a handgun we decided to move.

I'd like to see them "fry" as adults.

President's new programs will stop all the crime.

Where you are having difficulty, is because you are trying to ascribe rationality to irrational people.

Most good folks get jammed up, simply because they cannot force themselves to understand how someone could be so violent like this.

Instead of trying to understand it, you would be better served to simply acknowledge that evil does exist, that it is beyond your comprehension, and leave it at that.

Trying to 'understand' these monsters will make you crazy.

Very true, and very well put.

Where's Paul Kersey when you need him?

He wants money huh?? I'm sure Bubba in the state pen would be willing to give him a couple bucks every time he touches his toes.

While reading this story (and many others like it where innocent people are being attacked by low-life thugs), the same thing always pops into my head.

What if I saw this happen?

While I am a fairly new permit holder, I have decided long ago that when a clearly innocent person, such as this elderly gentlemen was, is under attack I must act to defend them whether I have a weapon or not.

So if I charge into the house after I see the altercation and hold these vermin at gun point, or God forbid have to kill one or both of them, how badly does the prosecuter bend me over and make me look like the criminal?

I now spend a good part of my young life defending my actions, integrity, reputation and the decision to do what is right.

But I have to believe that the old man's gratitude and the support of the community would sustain me through it.

I have discussed this with a few of my friends and family, both of which are split between pro and anti gun opinions. But since I now have all of your attention, I am very curious to know what you think.

djeepp - On one leve I would not hesitat to jump in to assist the victom, but on another I have to ask if it's woth it to leave my wife to fend for herself.

Remember, God, Family, comunity, country!

I happen to know this gentleman personally. He was in my office a few days before the attack. He's a very nice, personable, respectable gentleman. I'm sure he was picked out because of his age. At 81, the physical strength to stop teenagers from coming through the door just isn't there, and reflex/response times aren't as good as they once were.

It breaks my heart to see on one day a nice person getting along as well as he can, and then read something like this about him the following week.

The Strib article went on to say that he was scheduled to have a 2nd brain surgery to try to save him. Its clear that they intended to kill him, had the police response been just a little slower, because either of the teenagers could have simply restrained him had that been their goal.

MN should bring back the death penalty for people like this who can murder with such ease and senselessness.

You mean Bernie Goetz.

It'd be nice.

This reminds me of the attack on Fluffy, in her bookstore, some years ago. The thugs there didn't get nearly what they deserved, either.

Didn't this actually happen in December, and is news now because of the court case? Or am I confusing it with another crime?