Daniel Petric, the teenager who shot and killed his mother and injured his father after being cut off from his precious Halo 3 back in 2007, received his sentence today, MSNBC reports. Judge James Burge sentenced the boy to 23 years to cries of mercy from the boy's surviving father, who stated that Daniel "still does not understand why he did something so terrible."

Daniel's sentence is actually a lot lighter than it could have been, as the prosecution was pushing for the maximum sentence of life without parole. The defense's argument was that Daniel was so young and so addicted to the game that he could not be held accountable. Petric, only 17 years old, was even younger when he committed the crime, and the judge's lenience is likely tied to his belief that young Daniel was addicted to the point of delusion.

(Joystiq)

23 years?! What the fuck?!

Okay sure, the guy needs a punishment, but come on!

Halo 3 breaks more then you think :(

Well the question is whether the justice system will make him better. Thats not how it works though. I think its ridiculous for a 17 yo to get 23 yrs but i also think capital punishment and any juvenile sentencing as an adult is misdirected. He will be raped and dehumanised for a long time.

btw, this is coming from someone who was almost murdered by a another teenager when i was only 14 yo. That person got 2 yrs for the attempted murder and i was angry about that sentence. Still i don't think its fair or proper to sentence a kid to an adult prison.

And when he gets out, he will be 40 years old, and have lived more than half of his life in jail. Does this kid need help, so he wont just turn into a lifetime criminal? Yes, and one of the things to help make sure that that doesn't happen, is to not lock him up with a bunch of other criminals.

And he is just a kid! He was even younger when he killed his mother, why should he be treated like an adult? He wasn't an adult when he committed the murder, and he still isn't an adult.

+1

Does that really mean anything? 2 years changes a lot - but acknowledging the value of life? I knew that murder was UNTHINKABLE when I was 12. a 15 or 16 year old that murder's someone can be tried as an adult. Quite frankly, for someone like this, I think the death penalty could be applies to minors. When you think about it, is sending a 17 year old to jail for 23 years much better? What kind of person comes out? But that doesn't mean he shouldn't be punished. Putting someone in jail is as much(or more) about keeping a psycho off the streets as it is rehabbing him.

^ In this particular case i would argue the access to guns was one of the primary reasons why he was so easily capable of murder in the first place. But this issue NEVER seems to matter in the US, constitutional bullshit is irrellivant when this happens.

also, this wasn't just any random person this guy killed.
He killed his mother and tried to kill his father too.
Kid needs hospital, not jail imo.

It's sad, ruining his life over a awful game