Without spending my morning digging through the state statutes — minors in general are granted special protections under the law.

If the encounter really got out of hand, how can he prove he was provoked? And not only that, but sufficiently provoked to warrant an adult striking a minor.

See where this is going? You can bet a judge and jury will have little sympathy for someone who has physically maimed a child. I wouldn’t expect his fellow inmates to look highly on such behavior, either.

The letter of the law isn’t all that matters