As a teenage boy opened fire at a California high school this month, killing two students and wounding three others, Jesse Osborne of South Carolina, another teen school shooter, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for three lives he had taken three years earlier. What should be done with children who shoot to death other children at schools? Since the Columbine High School attack two decades ago, at least 33 underage shooters have killed someone on a K-12 campus, the Washington Post reports. Ten of them killed themselves, too, which means the fates of nearly two dozen children and teens have been, or will be, left up to judges and juries. Investigators found that Osborne had meticulously planned his crime, studying other mass murderers and aiming to slaughter “50 or 60” children — “if I get lucky maybe 150.” He never showed remorse.
Such sentences are controversial. Critics often argue that children cannot be treated like adults because scientific research shows that their brains haven’t fully developed. Udi Ofer of the American Civil Liberties Union said the U.S. is the only nation that allows children to be sentenced to life without parole. Osborne prosecutor David Wagner said he would have sought the death penalty had it been an option. “I don’t care if he was 14 or not,” Wagner said. “He should never have the opportunity to get out and do that again.” The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth says 22 states mandate that young convicts receive a chance for parole, regardless of their crime. Peter Langman, a psychologist who studies mass school shooters, said many who received long sentences have demonstrated little or no remorse. A pair of reviews found that many people who kill as children have been charged with serious offenses after they have been released.