tybee204 said:
The shooting of 2 adults and 1 child to me is far beyond "making a bad decision". The issue I am the most hung up on is the cold blooded killing of his sister who was a child as well. He killed her for purley selfish reasons (so as not to get caught) and that in my mind makes it 1st degree murder. The parents shooting I can understand as manslaughter but not the sister. The shooting of the child was a deliberate act of murder for self benefit.
The boy will probably be found guilty of manslaughter for the sister and do time until 21 in a juvenile facility, hopefully with mandated counciling. In many ways the state is as responsible for the boy's actions as his father's cruelty, as it failed miserably to step in and defuse what was clearly a lethal situation despite numerous occasions to do so. To be honest, this story was going to end only one of five ways once Cody was reclaimed by his ogre of a father. (Remember, running away was not an option for this boy, given his isolation and the fact his father could pull strings he normally would not have been able to due to his connection with Sam Donaldson.)
1. Cody was going to eventually be killed by his father, whether intentionally or simply as an upshot from a beating (ruptured spleen, brain injury, etc.).
2. The inner demons driving the elder Posey (and they were considerable) were going to lead to his slaughtering his entire family, then possibly taking his own life. His behavior was that of a man with serious emotional problems(possibly even major depression), no doubt dating back from his own abusive family background, much of which I feel he was reliving with Cody, but in the role of the abuser not the victim.
3. Cody would eventually snap under the constant abuse, which was being amped up because his father realized the boy was becoming physically his equal, and he was determiend to break his soul as well as his body in order to remain "in charge", and commit suicide as a means of escape.
4. Ditto the above, except that instead of choosing suicide, the boy opts to kill the three-headed monster that is threatening to destroy not only his flesh but his self as well.
5. Cody could have surrendered his soul to these beasts and become as they were, perpetuating their evil onto yet another hapless generation of farm boys and girls.
Of the 5 outcomes, the fourth is the best possible, to be honest.