Reply #5: But this is Vermont

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

I read the article and it says that the teens involved had no prior criminal record. They will go before a civilian review board and the board will decide their punishment. And then they have to walk the straight and narrow or else.

This case is similar to what happened to one of my nephews when he was a teen. (No, his parents aren't rich or influential). He broke curfew to go to a convenience store with a friend. While there, the friend shoplifted, and both were picked up. The cops implied that my nephew was a lookout. He was sentenced to counselling, which worked wonders. He's now in his late twenties, married and with a family, and hasn't gotten so much as a traffic ticket since.

I decry any "justice" system that would automatically put a person on trial for a small offense just because of their ethnicity. But as I read the Vermont law as described in the article, this type of sentencing is available to any teen who has a clean record. And, knowing teens, the public embarressment involved will be a deterrant to further crimes.