@Nigee - What's you rpoint? The youth are being charged with a crime? You do realize murder usually requires at least some intent to kill to be a charge, right? He died at home later. They just beat him up. they are probably going to jail *as youths* for manslaughter and assault. This is what they commited.

1 year for manslaughter ,,,,, the guy died as a direct of the attack, he was killed by them. 1 year hardly seems a just punishment for their actions.

It is still manslaughter. There was no provable intent to kill. Murder *requires* intent. and they are *juveniles*. This is actually about what they would get here in the US.

Draugnar, your casual knowledge of American legal principles are of little use when it comes to something from the Netherlands. Civil and common law systems are wildly different.

1 year for manslaughter, in the August riots in the UK last year a young man got 4 years for posting inciting message on Facebook

In the US, it would depend on your race and the judge you get. I've seen that one firsthand in bunches of drug cases. It's pretty easy to see. Hopefully that's different too.

I'm sorry, but, erm, what is the purpose of this thread? Why did you post this?

I mean, seriously, I can read the BBC news website myself. I don't need people to post its entire contents onto the webdip forum.

The OP's assertion of one country's leniency makes comparisons with other countries valid. Argument that US sentencing is irrelevant rejected.

Why does Nigee always bitch about other people's countries? Doesn't anything ever happen in Her Majesty's realm?

The short term is because they are kids. If they were older, it would be more.

BBC reporting on the topic is incomplete. No comment.

"The OP's assertion of one country's leniency makes comparisons with other countries valid. Argument that US sentencing is irrelevant rejected."

Comparisons, fine. But you gave a Law and Order level explanation of why these fellas were punished the way they were. That's all nonsense because the Netherlands has a totally different legal system than the United States. Not just different like between American states or between America and other common law countries, but different in that the entire underlying philosophy is different.

Sam Waterston's expository in TV New York may be enough to make someone adequately understand how this stuff works in America, but it's certainly not enough for any other country.

Re: Draugnar v Invictus
I agree there are differences in legal system but I don't see Draugnar saying anything that's false per se..

You mean because I pointed out murder requores intent? Well that is part of the English defimition of murder. Otherwise it is just killing ergo manslaughter. As far as the sentencimg that was a comparison. I said they would get about the same herebecause they were juveniles. We had a case her in Cimci wjere a couple of teens beat a mentally retarded person and robbed them and I think there was even a kidnapping tagged on and the youngest of the teens got like 18 months or something around that.