I’d like to comment on the idiocy of the people responsible for our judicial system, pertaining to the Lozano case.

We have forgotten what the point of punishment is. Punishment is dealt to ensure that someone doesn’t repeat a particular act that is possibly socially harmful ever again, and repents his or her actions. You usually send this person off to solitary confinement and give them time to think about the consequences of their actions and hopefully change their attitudes.

Tim Lozano is 15 years old. He was scared when he fled the scene after hitting Linda Chittenden. Besides, how could he have known he killed her? It was simple fear. He knew he’d caused an accident and was going to be in a lot of trouble. It can be argued that a slap on the wrist is too little, and I agree. Chop off his hands, but don’t stab him in the face. Throwing the kid in jail for 15 years for a case of spur-of-the-moment stupidity is ridiculous. He’ll come out of prison embittered and hateful, not repentant. There is no point — has he not been ridiculed and judged enough?

Many, many years ago, a teenager committed a well-planned and meticulously executed crime that astonished everyone with its cruelty. They then decided this child had to be tried as an adult because of the mental state of the individual as he was committing the criminal act. Today, we have forgotten why this procedure of trying someone as someone else they are not was introduced to begin with.

This is a sick and twisted mind that is of no use whatsoever to our society, or any other society. They should be tried as an adult for executing cold murderous plans. But think a little longer when deciding the fate of Tim Lozano. Tim did not wake up one fine morning and think to himself, “Gee. What a fine day to kill someone in a violent accident.” It was an accident. Yes, it could have been prevented, but what has happened has already happened. The lives of the friends and family of Linda Chittenden have already been affected. Let us think just a little before locking away the future of a 15-year-old boy in a box far away from those who love him.

Don’t try Tim Lozano as an adult. Try him as an idiot.

Lex Bahger

Ames, IA