I have very mixed thoughts and feelings on situations like that. Mostly? I agree with you.

But I am hoping that we find some better way. Regardless, though, the fact of the matter remains that treating acts of violence like that as actions of a mentally ill person doesn't mean they get away with it. Contrary to what Hollywood likes to say, when you successfully employ the Insanity Plea, you're most likely never leaving the hospital they put you in.

With all that said, I've also had conversations about high profile serial killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. My views on the death penalty have changed a lot, but I still believe that execution was really the only reasonable way to deal with those two. The point with this semi-off topic tangent being that it's a really complicated issue, and I'm not sure what the right answer is at this point in time.

I do hope that, some day, we know enough about what makes kids do horrible things, how to identify the warning signs, and get them help ahead of time so that this isn't even a debate.