parresia

14-year-old convicted of 2nd degree

14-year-old convicted of 2nd degree murder.

Most people know the story. The boy, after being suspended by another teacher, went home, got a gun, loaded it, and brought it back to school. When he saw another of his teachers, he pointed it at him and shot him through the head. The teacher died right there. The boy claims that he "didn't mean to kill the teacher;" he says, "he thought the gun's safety-button was engaged." As a result of the 2nd degree conviction the boy can expect to spend about 25 years behind bars. If he would have been convicted of 1st degree murder, he would have spent the rest of his life behind bars.

Exodus 21:12 reads as follows: "Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death..." Numbers chapter 35 has very similar language, "If anyone has a stone in his hand that could kill, and he strikes someone so that he dies, he is a murderer." From these passages it seems very clear that justice was not found. The boy ought to have been put to death under 1st degree penal sanctions.

Perhaps there is a response however. Some may read the remainder of Exodus 21:12, which reads, "However, if he does not do it intentionally...he is to flee to a place [God] designates," and think that even a 2nd degree conviction is too harsh, for the boy acted without the intent to kill. It seems clear to me that this latter understanding of the text in relation to the Florida case would be incorrect-- those who view the 14-year-old's actions as unintentional are mistaken.

The idea of "unintentional" as found in the Exodus passage, would be better translated "accidental." An example might be if someone were in the forest chopping wood with an ax, and the ax head flies off, killing a bystander (Deut. 19). This ax head example would be a biblical "accident." If this scenario were applicable to the school shooting above, the boy ought to go free. This is not the case however.

Going to school with a gun, that he took the time to load, and then pulling the trigger while it was pointed at someone is certainly not the same thing as an ax-head flying off. Furthermore, notice that biblically there doesn't seem to be any question of age. The boy's age is seemingly near irrelevant.

We need to allow God's word to speak for itself, and do our best to avoid misleading emotions that may cause us to second guess His authority.