Lawyers...in here now :)

[Theo O.]

Does this kid really need 158 years in prison or is this seriously over blown.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/15/flo ... index.html

[Steve Ekstrand]

Seems about right... Kill my mom, get 4 years. Child rape? 6 months ( http://www.poststar.com/articles/2009/0 ... 157083.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ).
Kill some cats, 158 years.

I think the kid is really sick. And its not unprecedented for serial killers to start as kids killing pets. Pretty common actually. Though we don't punish for being pre-disposed to future crimes.

The problem in animal torture and murder cases is usually the lack of any real sentence. Usually they are misdemeanors. The stacking of charges here will never happen. Never. I'd be surprised if he serves any real jail time at all. I hope he does though. And of course, he'll be a popular shower friend in prison.

[Bob Beamesderfer]

He'll never see consecutive sentences. That doesn't even happen in cases where it seems more than appropriate.

Ten years from now when there's a BTK-style killer in So. Florida, he could rise to the top of the suspect list. He's an unremarkable, normal looking kid. Wonder if he has the surface social charm that sociopaths display.