Last Tuesday, 15-year-old Christopher Pittman was sentenced to concurrent 30-year prison terms for the murder of his grandparents. The case has attracted national attention for two primary reasons.

First, the defendant was only 12 years old — just a child — when he committed the crime. Second, Pittman’s defense contended that his prescribed Zoloft medication had driven him to killing his grandparents.

Whether or not the latter is true, the 30-year sentence handed down to Pittman represents an unjust, reactionary punishment that defies common sense.

Pittman was, and still is, just a child — one who committed double homicide — but a child nonetheless.

The judicial system is a necessary aspect of society that must be wielded with the greatest care and seriousness. As such, one must question not only the danger posed to others by a convicted individual, but the effects of incarceration on that individual. After all, we don’t want to create problems or make convicted individuals even more dangerous.

Pittman is set to spend the next 30 years behind bars. This equates to twice the length of his entire life up to this point. To look at it another way, every moment he has spent since birth, in all of the places he has lived and been, including all of the varied experiences he has had, is only half of the time he is set to spend moving between his cell, the exercise yard and cafeteria.

It begs the question: What will Christopher Pittman learn in the next 30 years that wouldn’t be realized after 25? Or what about 20 years, or even the three years spent in custody endlessly thinking about his actions and himself?

In all likelihood, the last gut-wrenching three years have probably already revealed to Pittman a portion of what the 30-year sentence is intended to “teach” him.

What Pittman needs is not a hopelessly long prison sentence in which his education will be served by white supremacists, rapists and others from “the wrong crowd.” That will not likely help him grow into a man who can take responsibility for his crimes and return to society forgiven.

Pittman needs rehabilitation, which is just the opposite of what he’s going to get. He needs to spend time in a psychiatric facility under close supervision and active rehabilitation by people who are trained to do so. When and if staff feel he is ready to return to society as a productive and not destructive citizen, the decision should be made.

Pittman was just a child when he committed the murders, and he remains just a vulnerable child. He needs help. To do anything else is child abuse.