Police: Teen Burned Alive Over Pregnancy

Of course it was all her fault if she was pregnant, right? And since abortion is "wrong", what else could the poor guy do?

He should have set himself on fire.

evano writes:

Of course it was all her fault if she was pregnant, right? And since abortion is "wrong", what else could the poor guy do?

He should have set himself on fire.

You made a long stretch from abortion being wrong to setting her/himself on fire. I'm sure we can find a few other options between those two

Wow, he seems like a nice guy. I can only imagine what kind of personal ad he might put out. "Enjoys long drives in the country and bonfires."

@bale: Yes, I know it was a long stretch, but I don't think it was nearly as long a stretch as the one that guy made. I mean, how do you get from: "My girlfriend may be pregnant" to "I'll set her on fire." There's obviously something defective in his brain that made him think he had no other choice. I'm completely against capital punishment, but I'm not against suicide. And, since I'm against capital punishment, then I'm going to have to stick up for him in 10 years when millions of dollars will have been spent in prosecuting him and defending him and imprisoning him, when all his appeals run out and he's about to get the needle. I'll abhor him, I'll abhor his crime, but I'll abhor even more being a part of a society which will, in my name, enforce revenge as its form of justice. So...

He should have set himself on fire.

"Cloths hangers and setting each other on fire"

It's nice to know that this thread has been bombard with rational and intelligent thinkers. Awesome!

@emo: I'm not flaming -- I've been on here a while and I believe strongly in the Code. I am sincerely asking, what do you think the proper response should be? I don't think a simple "tut-tut, what a shame" is sufficient for the inhumanity of this crime.

I think I explained my reasoning, which is based on the assumption that this guy will be sentenced to death; Florida is a death-penalty state and the horrific details of this crime and the fact that he was charged with first-degree murder almost assures that outcome. While I'm against the death penalty, I'm quite certain that there are people who don't deserve to live. It's just not my place -- or anyone's or everyone's place -- to make that decision. So... what do you think?

Unfortunately, as we increasingly limit women's choices regarding reproduction (i am referring to limited access to education, information and birth control as well as abortion issues) -- we will probably also see an increase in these sorts of tragic stories. In many countries where women don't have freedom to choose in regards to marraige, sex, and procreation -- these sorts of crimes are all too familiar. There seems to a direct correlation between violence against women and value systems that regard women as inferior, property, or another sort of commodity.

At least in the United States, it is still considered murder (unlike in other parts of the world where it is basically legal to burn your wife if she doesn't satisfy).

Should of gotten the abortion..if that was out of their reach well then...Accept it, and go on with your lives... I really can't grasp how someone can conceive that burning your girlfriend alive will resolve anything....That guy's a moron..I'm rooting for serious punishment for him...

the sad thing is that she actually was NOT pregnant

@Snookie: Has there been a follow-up article? They said they were going to do an autopsy in the linked article. Do you have more info?

The saddest thing is that you can't be put to death by the same means you caused death to another.

Eye for an eye.

Hand for a hand.

Burn for a burn.

These are the kind of posts that really stump me.. Who the hell cares "why" she was set on fire?.... She was set on fire, this to me just seems wrong.

What kind of a mind set does this to someone?, What kind of a mind set argues for the perpitrator on a crime like this, my god man!, she was set on fire!!

Sorry for the rant..

@lauone: No need to apologize -- that was so short, I'd hardly call it a rant! :) But, seriously, who do you see as arguing for the perpetrator? Is it someone on this thread? Or someone in the article? I honestly don't see it here. Or are you talking about my rejection of the death penalty even for inhuman scum such as him?

Umm you know revenge I think is actually I pretty nice way to have things work in this country... "treat your neighbors as they would treat you," "you soe what you reep," "eye for an eye," "the punishment should fit the crime." I just don't want to spend the next 70+ years paying for this guy to live.

@evano and everyone else, I jumped the gun on this, I was trolling and in a rush before I had to get going. I quickly "skimmed" the posts after reading the article. The thought of being set on fire for any reason really through me for a loop. My fault, and I apologize.

Note to self .. Read all post carefully before posting..

As far as the death penalty goes, I'm all for paying to let these scum bags rot in a prison for the rest of their lives. Death seems to simple of a punishment for them. I believe even scumbags have a right to breathe, just let them do it in a 6x6 foot cell.

I believe the word "sad" should be replaced with "ironic" there. Perhaps more dramatic irony.

A terrible tragedy. I personally believe violence against women will only increase as our society moves more towards allowing religion into everyone's lives (as opposed to just the lives of those that choose religion - examples: intelligent design, the abortion debate, gay marriage, and many many more).

Intolerance. That's what we're moving toward. And as intolerance increases, so will these kinds of horrific crimes.

@evano

It says the following in the article:

"The medical examiner found no evidence that she was having a baby," Local 6 reporter Mike DeForest said.

This is a tragedy. This sort of behaviour could (and I repeat with emphasis, could) be the result of a repressive and intolerant society. That society doesn't have to be that of broader America, but even one a bit more insular, like the cultural and religious pocket that his parents and their friends belong to. Idealistic as my views are, everyone needs to be tolerant of everyone else. Even if that person is one's own child, or parent. As humans, we are expressive creatures. We have the need to express ideas we have. Indoctrinating us with rules and regulations that will end up harming others is no way to raise a responsible citizen of humanity.

@Vinay: Yes, I see the ME's statement has been included in the article, which has been updated since I initially read it.

When you talk of the "cultural and religious pocket" of his family and friends, are you speaking with a familiarity with that particular group? What I am asking -- with no intention of racism or profiling -- is, if you can tell from their surnames what particular ethnic or religious group they may belong to, and what particular customs, taboos, or practices may be involved in this. I am purely and sincerely attempting to place this horrific event in a context beyond the initial simplicity of "pure evil," so that I may better understand how something like this can occur. My guess is that they are from a South or West Asian ethnic group, and I wonder if this is related to the bride burnings which occur in India, particularly. (I wrote about those some time ago in my personal blog and have discussed the issue with a former co-worker of mine whose extended family was involved in one of these cases.)

@evano

Well, from the names, I am guessing that it's a middle eastern or eastern culture. In fact, I might go as far as to guess Arabic. In many of the arabic countries, women have very few rights, and behaviour such as this, while horrific, is allowed.

Now, I can't speak with any real experience in that culture. But I can certainly speak at length of the way my parents brought me up and "imposing" the culture they brought from India on me. I am shaped by that extremeley (in my opinion) conservative view as well as the relatively liberal culture of America. This is my curse/blessing as a first generation child. So if the parents do believe in this, I can see how those beliefs can be imprinted on the child. A quick example of this would be, my parents have the strong belief that dating or sex education is equal/congruent/the same as the act of sex itself. Most of us know that this is not the case. I certainly have no such impressions. But, I think some of my cousins and siblings do. And they too are first generation children.

Those names are not middle eastern. In fact, they strike me as Indonesian, perhaps Malay.

Well I stand by the fact that I said guess. I also said eastern culture as part of my guess, and I believe that Indonesian or Malay can fall under that heading. In general, eastern culture tends to be very patriarchal. In general. That said, though many of the religions and cultures don't explicitly or implicitly say women are inferior (some may say the opposite), women are treated so, as objects, and property. That was what I was getting at.

merrydeath is right on the money when he suggests that these types of strange and I would argue, desperate crimes are only going to increase as a woman's choices in relationship to her own reproductive health are limited by state and national governments. This surely does not excuse the heinous nature of the crime, but I think it shouldn't be treated as an isolated case, but rather something we are sadly going to see more of as repression sets in.