And, there we are back to their parents and/or "friends" who made them do it.

They are well aware of what punishments await, yet they still commit crimes... How come? Well, again back to "the source" who didn't raise them good enough to understand what consequences beating up another human being could have for them when they grow up.

Teaching is the key!

But out of those seven billion people, when that one person is you, you'll probably like a little empathy.  Just saying.  We aren't heartless, here.

well britain will go that way i assume,england anyway more parties etc and we are a tiny country too,don't get me wrong but we have a larger population in a very small amount of urban areas,with major culture clashes which can go off with a tiny spark

the real big boys like the usa,china,russia,brasil,india ,it will be interesting to see how they deal with all their social issues which wil be new for all of them as modern power econmies apart from the us,they will have to police the world and deal with home issues,i will enjoy getting all PC with them as people do with us now,can't wait infact <_O

We don't know that anyone made them do it. They could have acted on their own. Seems to me like they did. Why did they do it? Whatever the reason, they did do it. By that age, they should know that it's wrong. Thus, the fact remains that they should be punished for their actions. Even if someone did tell them to do it, they still made the choice to do it themselves. They didn't have to. But they did. And even if they didn't know it was wrong. Punishing them will show them that it is wrong. There is no reason for them not to know; hurting someone is never okay, and even if your parents sucked at teaching, you'd still see that in school when kids get punished for bullying other kids.

You're trying to punish a "source" that may not actually be the source. It may be, but that doesn't change the fact that these kids still chose to do it themselves, knowing that it's wrong. The source could be friends, or it could be them thinking that this guy was a geek and they didn't like that. Punishing them will teach them that it is wrong. I guarantee it. And it will be far more effective than any other method of "rehabilitation" that you can think of.

Also, saying they are aware of the punishments of committing the crime implies that you're saying that they know it's a crime, and thus that they don't need teaching that it is wrong, but need punishment for knowingly and willingly committing that crime. Severe punishment to ensure that it does not happen again.

It's not the US being huge, it's the US being a giant mess of cultures from across the world that may not see eye to eye on many different things. Also, I do not think that many punishments are severe enough, which is the problem. From what I recall (which I admit could be wrong), I remember reading news articles about homeless people who would commit crimes because they wanted to be in jail; it was better than wherever they were before.

Many of those countries with lower crime rates and less punishment are not nearly as culturally diverse as the US is, and will not experience this kind of problem on the same level that the US does.

And if the punishment was something like hard physical labor 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for the duration of the stay in prison, it would be a far better deterrant than what you see today.

It seems we completely agree :)

How will teaching help? They know it's a crime, and therefore know it's wrong. What's left to teach?

Now THAT's a solid argument :P

If they're a lost cause, then why not punish them? You can't just let them get away with it because they're a "lost cause." They should be thrown in jail for their crimes. Maybe they don't see it's wrong, but if the punishment is so bad that they don't want to go back again, then that will act as a deterrant, and thus keep them from committing more of these crimes even though they don't see it as wrong.

That is not at all what I'm saying. I'm saying punishment for the sake of justice, for the sake of showing them that it is wrong and not acceptable in society, and for the sake of the victim of their crime. And physical punishment? Not like physical abuse. I mean physical labor. Ever hear of chain gangs? They would be working and doing something productive to benefit society rather than sitting around in a cell all day doing nothing.  Repaying their debt to society. Would it be fun work? Heck no. Would it be a punishment and act as a deterrant? Yep. Of course, I wouldn't tolerate any humiliation or insults from the guards. They can't be treated poorly in that respect. And there's no need to starve them or anything like that. But putting in a hard day's work is not unreasonable.