Globe Youth Editorial Board: Mouton made right decision in Memorial Middle School shooter case

Judge David Mouton made the correct decision when he ruled Memorial Middle School shooter Thomas Gregory White was unfit to stand trial, according to the Joplin Globe Youth Editorial Board:

Make no mistake: What White is accused of doing is very serious. We realize that a jammed rifle was all that stood between a scary incident and a tragic one.

The reports of him repeatedly attempting to shoot a principal, while being ushered out of the school, is chilling. Despite that, he was 13 years old. At that age, we may not know how to rationally work out problems.

Instead of languishing in the judicial system, waiting for court appointments, he should be in a system designed to give him the help he needs, and prepare him for the consequences he should face.

The rest of the editorial stresses students being careful about what they say about each other perhaps keeping such an incident from happening again. I am all in favor of that, but I can't help believe that swift justice in Thomas Gregory White's case could also have served as a deterrent.