One of the biggest issues here is to what end do we need to punish our children when they make mistakes. Are their minds still open to change? Are they able to recognize that they made a mistake and make amends, or do they need to be punished long into their adult life for a mistake that was made while the law still considered them unable to make decisions for themselves? The law does not recognize a person as being able to make a major decision for themselves until they reach the age of majority, which in most states is 18, however, more and more minors are committing so-called adult crimes, like Tyson Baxter.

In light of recent events in the media, it is long past time to take a long hard look at the punishment phase for the criminal justice system. Sometimes the system can be overly harsh and abusive, while at others it can be far too lenient. Where is the medium found?

Drinking has been proven to reduce person’s inhibitions, and as such there are many laws attempting to prevent the access of alcohol to minors, however, all the persons involved made the deliberate effort to bypass these laws, successfully, and according to their blood alcohol content levels, were extremely intoxicated. One was over three times the legal limit, with the lowest level at 0.11 percent (with a state limit of 0.10 percent) and the drivers BAC level at 0.14 percent. Again, does this make any of the passengers responsible for what happened?

The severity of the punishment cannot be established until all factors of the incident have been examined, starting with the collision itself. There were a total of eight people in the SUV, including the driver. All seven passengers got into the vehicle willingly, knowing that the driver himself was intoxicated. Does this make them in any way to blame for their demise? All but one person were ejected from the vehicle upon the impact, which more than likely implicated them of not wearing a seat belt. Does this affect their share of the blame? Would they still be alive had they been wearing a restraint? There was one person who managed to remain in the vehicle afterwards, and physically, he only suffered a broken ankle. Emotionally, the cost may never be totally known.

One last item to note on the collision itself is the report that the passengers were rocking and swaying the vehicle, which would make a top heavy, SUV like the Chevrolet Suburban hard to handle. Are they responsible at all for what happened?

The parents of the slain children wanted Baxter to receive the maximum penalty, wanted him to be prohibited from graduation, and they also wanted him to be placed in custody before Christmas day. One parent went so far as to make a comment about his desire to see Baxter dead.

Then there is the emotional toll that Baxter inflicted. Not only on the survivors of his joyride, but also on the parents of the teenagers who died, and almost everyone in his com

Some topics in this essay:
Tyson Baxter, Robert Schweiss, Chevrolet Suburban, Drunken Ride”, Drunken Ride, Christopher Avram, inches six foot, six foot, result people, inches six, responsible happened, manslaughter counts,