# How do you feel about people that murdered as children and their guilt? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 18, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-people-that-murdered-as-children-and-their-guilt/952707 "2021-10-18T19:48:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Danger\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-people-that-murdered-as-children-and-their-guilt/952707/1 "2021-10-18T19:48:53Z")
I was just reading some discussions on Reddit about Eric Smith getting released. I can understand that people believe there is something permanently wrong with him and that he cannot be rehabilitated. But what do you feel about his personal guilt and responsibility? And what about other cases where young children become murderers? Are they just as responsible as adults, just a victim of their childhood, or something in between? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-people-that-murdered-as-children-and-their-guilt/952707/2 "2021-10-18T20:57:59Z")
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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-people-that-murdered-as-children-and-their-guilt/952707/3 "2021-10-18T21:02:40Z")
This OP is in need of information about Eric Smith and whatever his case was. Also the title is very imprecise, it looked to me like you were asking about people who murdered children, but in the OP, you’re asking about people who as children murdered others. Let me or another GD Mod know what can be added to the OP to fix it. I’ll fix the title in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-people-that-murdered-as-children-and-their-guilt/952707/4 "2021-10-18T23:16:07Z")
I am obviously not familiar with Smith’s psychological condition. Institutionalizing a person who presents a clear danger to other people if free is a separate issue from criminal punishment and maybe that’s why he remained locked up for so long, If it wasn’t that he was dangerously insane, well, in my opinion, a 27-year criminal incarceration imposed upon a child is barbaric.