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During a 2007 widely acclaimed monolog during his time as host of "The Late Late Show" on CBS, Ferguson talked about his own struggle with drugs and alcohol. He also urged people to back off attacking, ridiculing and having fun at the expense of Britney Spears because she was "just a baby."
Granted, shaving your head and getting tatted up is a lot different than plotting the murders of your teachers and classmates. Also granted, no one is doing comedy routines on the four local kids, but it does underscore something. We as a society really need to take a better look at how we treat young people. Praise. Discipline. Punishment. Education. Good kids and the not so good ones.
I don't have the answers. In fact, being single and child-less, I'm the worst person to ask. As I wrote here yesterday, I'd love to know what went wrong in the suspects' lives that drove them in this direction.
I will never forget a homicide trial I covered in Luzerne County back during my radio days in the 80's. A state trooper's son was on trial. He was found guilty of first degree murder and a sickening moment took place during the sentencing phase. The trooper took the stand to speak about his son. Long story short. The kid was always trouble, and discipling him put a strain on the trooper's marriage. The trooper said he had to choose between his son and his marriage and he "chose the wrong one."
It broke your heart.
The murder plotters boggle the mind.
If someone knows the way we get out of this, now is the time to speak up.
