Should the parents of the Southport Killer face civil or even criminal action?

[mids2019]

Listening to the news I do wonder if the parental decisions of the Southport Killer reach a point where they need to face some sort of accountability. I understand that the parents aren't to blame but potentially they could have acted to stop their son and is there not some sort of sanction for this?

What about every other parent of a child that’s killed, this is ridiculous!

I am sure in America they do this

I doubt that is possible but maybe a new law could be considered to cover this failure to act when concerned about someone's actions and mental health. It may make some relatives think twice before covering things up thinking it will be ok.

But this isn’t America!

That's insane - and I liked an earlier thread here about the dad being accountable for his son's actions...

What about victims of DA who know their abuser is violent and doesn't do anything to stop them hurting others because they're scared?

Legally the mother and father are DA victims - we can have a longer discussion about effective parenting, getting help sooner, not blaming schools for exclusions/punishments but we can't sue family members of criminals, especially when they are also victims.

Reminds me of when the columbine killer's parents were sued by the parents of children who'd been murdered. Let's not be like America.

No.

I think it's a difficult one. If they were aware he had weapons they should have reported that so they could be removed. They had, I believe, called the police about him over previous incidents so I'm not sure why they didn't do that again. It sounds like they had a very challenging time with him over the years, with little to no help available, and as a parent you can't really believe that your child would be capable of actually carrying out anything so heinous.

Also concerning is that this kind of weapon can be bought by a teenager over the Internet.

Absolutely not.

I don't know the details of the case but until you have parented a psychotic teenager with zero help from anyone, no matter how loudly you shout you have no idea. I feel desperately sorry for the parents. Controversial view I know. I send the parents my best wishes and I'm just glad it's not me

Of course not.

I feel like it’s a slippery slope to saying rape victims who don’t report their rapist should be held accountable for further rapes that he commits.

No, where would it end, way too difficult to unpick blame.

Why didn't they contact professionals if they had concerns about their son? Why just ignore it? Father accepted delivery of a machete for his son!!
But tbh the failings seem to lie most heavily with Prevent?

Yes.
In a case this horrific they are accountable as well.

This isn’t a case we see every day this was a mass murder of young children by a 17 year old. Parents do have a responsibility and it should be down to a court to determine their guilt. A machete arrived at the family home? It was known that he was a danger. Their involvement and whether they did their best to prevent a crime should be judged, a mass attack took place on kids. As should any mental health services and other services who did not protect the public. It is negligence and similar to corporate manslaughter. A new law should be introduced.

@MeganM3 Agreed. Apparently they also knew he had weapons hidden under his bed.

I used to feel terribly sorry for the parents too, until I actually heard what's come out in court. They minimised what he did, they always had excuses, and they didn't make reports to the correct agencies.

I think there was one regarding a school shooting as the parents had bought their son a handgun for his birthday and it may have been something to do with his age iirc.
So many school shootings they're unfortunately two a penny.

Do white parents have to go to jail for their criminal children?

It sounds as if the parents lived a terrifying nightmare. I don’t think prosecuting them makes much sense. They were survivors of genocide Iiving in a coercive threatening relationship with their own son, expecting daily to die violently at his hands. Given the number of parents killed by violent and/or mentally ill sons every year, they were right to be afraid. They undoubtedly could have done more. Most of us could.

No definitely not

Yes I think they should and I agree with the parents whose children were murdered.
for all the people saying No I’m guessing they know very little about the case. The knew he was stockpiling weapons and did nothing. They actively covered up his behaviour from various authorities.

@ChatBotBelly What has skin colour got to do with it?

Dunno, sounds like a mixture of parents not realising the seriousness of his evilness and the authorities not joining up the dots with alarm bells raised about him missed opportunities.

This is a disgusting comment. Yes they should if their children murdered 3 little girls in a horrific attack and the parents did not report violent behaviour and weapons stockpiling to the authorities.