Adults can be expected to at least try to defend themselves.

What if the adult is handicapped?Or isn't aware of the killer's presence?

A life is a life and a child's life isn't worth more than an adult's life.
But it takes more to kill a child and it's more shocking if children are murdered, so it depends on how you look at the question.

Yes, because as the person above me said they can at least defend themselves. Plus, children are innocent and young. Adults have been able to at least live a chunk of their life while a chld hasn't yet. Of course, murder is murder so killing anyone is wrong, but killing a child is worse.

We're all human beings at the end of the day. We would all feel the same ammount of pain if someone plunged a knife into our chests.
Our families SHOULD feel the same ammount of griving if their son was a murdered child than if their son was a murdered adult.
And plus, some children CAN defend themselves. Some children in parts of the world HAVE TO defend themselves.

Yes, because you are committing more than one wrong act. You are not only are killing someone but are also killing someone you are supposed to look after and protect. That's why we also tend to find the killing of the elderly, infirm, severely handicapped, etc to be that much more heinous. These are all groups who need to be protected and rely on us for their well being.

Murder is obviously really wrong, but there's something about killing a child being worse than an adult

@Lunalovely Care to further explain?

No,I don't think so anyway,because murder is murder,people are people,older or younger,each person's life should be valued equally,but on the other hand adults have the choice to defend themselves,but children usually can't/don't,however it depends on the situation itself,sometimes even adults can defend themselves in that situation..but still regardless of age,people's lives should be valued equally.

It's hard to explain. It doesnt have anything to do with facts, but with your sense of good and bad. A child is just more innocent, more harder to kill(morally). For someone to kill a kid really shows how heartless they are.

^ Um......doesn't killing any human being show how heartless you are?

To me, it's like killing a black panther versus a feral black cat. Yes, both crimes are heinous (no one's denying that), but one is worse than the other. Both the child and black panther legally need to be protected more than the other (the black panther because it's endangered and the child because it is unable to care for itself the way an adult can).

EDIT: I would say more, but Nene pretty much said all I was thinking on this.

^ Um...Ok. I kind of get what your saying. Are you saying that killing a child vs killing a adult is like killing a panther vs killing a cat because a panther is a endangered species....? Sorry, but that makes no sense.

Yes. One is unable to thrive without protection -- panthers would go extinct if humans weren't legally forced to protect them. They cannot thrive without that legal protection, they don't have the means to do it.

A child is legally bound to be guarded be adults. They can't survive on their own -- legally, mentally, emotionally. An adult can. Killing something that needs to be protected is worse than killing something that can protect itself.

@pandawinx yeah true, but someone who kills a child is even more heartless than someone who kills an adult

@bri-marie, oh ok. sorry, i miss-understood the message.

Except some children can protect themselves (In some countries which are war striken they have to)
And some adults can't (The mentally and pyshically disabled, the old and frail etc)

The exception is not the rule. And nene (who I already said covered everything I was going to say) mentions the handicapped and old-folk.

For one thing, we all have people in our lives that mean a lot to us. To say that one person's life is more valuable just because of age I feel is a little unfounded. Life is life. In this day and age there is hardly any innocence left in the world. I've known adults that are more innocent and pure than some children today.

Sure it's all dead wrong.

But a child can't fight back.

Well, I'll admit it...I personally feel that it is.

A person being murdered is a sorrowful event and truly terrible, whether it be a child or an adult.

But when I hear about a story where a child is raped, beaten, harmed in any way, or relentlessly killed...it affects me more. Much more. Emotionally, in a lot of ways.

Cause this is how I see it;
This was a person who didn't really live. Didn't really have the full opportunity to live their lives to the fullest. I mean, children are murdered at various ages; Seventeen (Although seeing teens as 'children' would depend on the person)...thirteen....ten...seven...fouur.­­..­t­w­o.­­..e­­ig­h­t­ee­­n months...even infants as young as five months...even newborns who were only in this world for seconds.
Such a horribly short time on this planet, still learning about the world, with the fragile yet tremendous impression that our society is a safe place for everybody, and the world is a happy place where very few or no one would want to hurt a sweet child.

And then someone approaches and steals your life away before you can even live it.

Also, this is just an innocent child. A person too small, too weak to fight back, too naive and blissful to understand why they are being killed, to have their last moments on Earth end in terror, horror, broken trust, such psychological harm, immense betrayal, pain on so many levels by a person who may often be best described as a "monster", only the murdered child may learn that real monsters aren't the ones hiding in your closet, hiding under your bed, or the ones who stole Snow White away (hypothetically).

To picture someone so innocent being killed for absolutely no reason at all...what could a child have done to justify such a brutal, horrendous act of horror...and what the child goes through during the murder...it's nearly unimaginable for me...incomprehensible...just unimaginable...


This is why.

In my moral code yes it is much worse because they had no chance at life or to defend themselves. But in the law I guess it favors the adult, I mean the government allows women to murder their unborn children so technically the adult is worse in our society (sadly).

Why do you have to drag abortion into this question? There are tons of questions on this spot where you can discuss abortion, why here?

because in my opinion unborn children are children and no one gives a crap when they're murdered, so are ALL children thrown into this question or only the ones who have been born? Because the question is double sided.^^^^

At least an adult had lived more life than a child.

Murder is murder. I came onto this poll thinking that, but realised, after reading every comment, that it is much worse to kill those that cannot defend themselves properly. I agree with nene fully - The disabled, elderly, sickly, young and others that cannot protect themselves from being attacked.

@Bri-marie. I like your example. It was quite brilliant and I fully agree - It is probably the most perfect comparison you could have thought of. Plus, I like the idea that the animal in my username is used in the example, though I hate how the majestic black panther is endangered in the first place -_-

They are both horrible deeds but at least an adult has more of a chance to defend themselves, at least an adult was given a chance at life. The very fact that a child never even got a chance at going to high school prom, graduation, getting a licence, going to college, and getting a job because he/she was murdered is horrible.

^I agree. A child has so much more life and fulfillment yet to come, and they could have a lot to offer the world when they are older. Plus they are more vulnerable and aren't even given a fair chance compared to an adult.

That's also a good point. What if the child killed had something important to offer, like a way to run cars without gasoline?

listen here you,there's no such thing as child is more important than adults,i know they don't know how to defend themselves very well,i too myself thinks this as an disadvantages,but just because of that doesn't mean a child murder is worst than adult's,i mean when you kill a 17 year old,how come that's worse than killing an 18 year old,just one year apart right?and don't talk about self independence,even teens(consider as child)can take care of themselves better than college students,and don'talk about who's live longer and shit,when a 87 year old men kills a 32 year old man,you can see the age distance of 55 years,it's like a 71 year old kill a 16 year old,i mean the old guy lives longer than him,but it's consider as an average kills

i'm a teenager myself,seriously,i'm 16 and i myself think this is not fair,who would like to see someone kills,a murderer should get death sentence in any murders,there should be no levels of killing,death sentence is for murderers without any cases

and also,this post is about which one is worst,he didn't ask what children has to offer in the future,so think clearly you empty minded noobs!

i'm 16 and to think this is UNFAIR FOR THE GENERATION,once you release a murderer,they will kill again so shut it,your argument is invalid!

listen here you,there's no such thing as child is more important than adults For one I don't know if you're talking to me or not but if you are there's no need for the 'listen you' is comes off kind of aggressively to me and I don't think (hope it wasn't) your aim. A simple @zanhar would have been fine. No I did not say a child is more important than an adult. What I did say was in my opinion the murder of a child is sadder and more tear jerking than an adult. It's the fact that they weren't even given a chance at life, the fact that they could have been the one holding the cure for cancer or a solution to the high gas prices. Adults are just as important as kids, I'm a part of the adult population...

i mean when you kill a 17 year old,how come that's worse than killing an 18 year old,just one year apart right? It isn't they are so close in age it's ridiculous to say that it's okay to murder one. No one said that murder of any kind is okay. All I am saying is at least (in most cases) and adult would have a chance to defend him or herself. It's like that old bullying expression 'pick on someone your own size' it's much worse to pick on someone simply because you know they are weaker. Of course murdering an adult is horrible but at least they have a chance to fight back and give the killer a deserved punch in the face, a young kid probably couldn't reach that high.

and don't talk about self independence,even teens(consider as child)can take care of themselves better than college students This of course depends on the individual in question. Some college students will be less responsible than teens others are far more experienced. Both teens and college kids had a chance to learn self defense. This is more of an individual thing.

,and don'talk about who's live longer and shit, But that's the whole point of this question. No need to cuss, that's pretty rude. I'm starting to think you are trying to be unkind in your statements and I see no need for it. This is a debate spot and I know you disagree with me but there is no need to start cussing and what not.

when a 87 year old men kills a 32 year old man,you can see the age distance of 55 years,it's like a 71 year old kill a 16 year old,i mean the old guy lives longer than him,but it's consider as an average kills I don't quite get what you are saying, mind rephrasing this?

i'm a teenager myself,seriously,i'm 16 and i myself think this is not fair,who would like to see someone kills,a murderer should get death sentence in any murders,there should be no levels of killing,death sentence is for murderers without any cases And I am 19, I am an adult by law and I still believe child slaughter is a tad worse than murdering an adult. If I ever saw a gun to a kid's head I would sacrifice myself to save them, I'd die in their place. At least I had a chance to fight back. Losing a child is a terrible pain; imagine being a parent of one of those kids shot in Sandy Hook Elementary School, you'd probably find yourself thinking about all the things the kid never got to do; drive a car, graduate, get a job, go to prom, basically live-the kid barely got a chance to live. Where as an adult such as myself; I've experienced all that and hate the idea that some kids never get a chance to. We take it for granted. The death of a child is really painful to parents took. And not I am not saying that it's not sad to lose a parent that's super hard but from what I've seen and heard the most painful thing for a parent is to lose a child especially to murder. I had an aunt who lost her kid to the flu, she went under depression for years. On top of that I don't agree with the death sentence, but that's another matter.

and also,this post is about which one is worst,he didn't ask what children has to offer in the future,so think clearly you empty minded noobs! Well that was really rude and disrespectful. At this point I don't see the point in even trying to debate with you. You're probably one of those super unreasonable people who won't even try to see the other side. You're to busy calling people names. Just because someone doesn't agree with you doesn't make them empty headed. Yes he/she asked which is worse (not worst, that's grammatically incorrect) and not about what a kid can offer. But with asking this question (or any other for that matter) comes with asking for reasons as to why you selected the option you did. Bringing up what the child could have offered was one of my reasons, and listing potential offerings helped back my argument-it adds pathos to my statements. Pathos being an emotional appeal to one's argument; it's much more effective and persuasive to say (for exsample) homophobia is cruel because thousands of teens commit suicide because of the bullying that comes with it than to simply say homophobia is cruel and leads to bad things. It is better to have an argument backed with reason than empty statements such as 'yes it's wrong' or 'no it's okay'. As a side comment you used noob out of context; a noob is someone who is new to a game, a site, etc. I have been here for about 5 years now and have been debating online for a good while too. So I don't see how this apply to me or anyone above.

i'm 16 and to think this is UNFAIR FOR THE GENERATION,once you release a murderer,they will kill again so shut it,your argument is invalid! And I am 19, an adult and I think it's a reasonable opinion to keep. I'm not saying anyone has to agree with me, death is crappy all around no matter who is dying, it really hits home. But I do believe I have just as much a right to think child murder is slightly worse than adult murder (though, and I emphasis this, both are horrendous) as you have to think the opposite. No one said anything about punishing adult murderers less harshly! A murder is murder, and all murder should be punished the same. All we said is that we believed child murder is crueler and more devastating. Please read more carefully before placing harsh accusations. That last statement was pretty obnoxious, am I telling you to shut it because I disagree with you? No, I'm not, I welcome different opinions and respect them, unlike you. Be more open minded. Nothing said above is invalid, opinions can't be invalid unless of course they ignore obvious facts. All of what was said above can be backed by statistics. The only invalid argument here is the one you bought up in saying that people who disagree with you are empty headed noobs. Why is this invalid because you don't know any of us personally and you have very little right to judge us simply for disagreeing with you, especially since we're trying to be nice and you are the one calling names and what not.

Now I don't mean to be rude or unkind or full of myself but I don't appreciate how you were talking to/about us and our beliefs. So I'll ask nicely; can you please stop with the name calling and at least try to understand our points of view?

Shame on those who picked "yes" and support abortion.

^Right. Because everyone's idea of where life starts is exactly the same, and everyone agrees that abortion is killing a life.

Thanks for the support. Agreed.

I wasn't supporting you. I was sarcastically disagreeing with your extremely over-simplified view of the abortion debate.

Oh. I guess that sarcasm was a fail.

On your part. I don't know why you honestly thought everyone in the world believed the exact same way about anything.

Ikr?

I picked yes and don't support abortion...do the two go hand in hand somehow?

haha,sorry,i have bad english,i try to say it the nice way but i don't know the words so i just copied the words randomly around the internet,when i read my past comments,i sound like

sorry if you guys mad at me for the harsh words,i try to say it very clearly now

what im trying to say back then is about life is precious for everyone,its a give from god,everyone deserve it no matter old or young,i just don't like people killing,i'm muslim and i know this,god set a rule where you take someone's life you will pay by life,and also in my opinion is once a murder will be considered a murder if they have proof,i dont say i don't like little kids,i love em,infact,i will defend them from someone,but i just dont thinktheir murder is a big deal,in my opinion every murder is a giagantic deal,i'm just tired of people saying,dat kid is murdered by that men,he's a fag,while on the other hand,people say dat murdering an adult is just normal,and i don't like that

so i'm sorry for my harsh words back then,and for you out there who hate muslims and reply stupid/intimidating comments to me about my relegion,i only leave it to god

peace,ask me something on my facebook if you didn't understand my english :P

btw this is my facebook address link me and ask me anything about the comment above :)

peace

It's alright, not everyone is an English major. I'm not mad, was just a tad offended.

I see what you're trying to say. And I agree, no one deserves death no matter the age. I'm a Catholic, we kind of have the same belief, that if you kill someone you'll spend an eternity in Hell. You murder, you get punished. I call any type of murder horrible and I don't think killing an adult is just normal. Both are truly disgusting. I just find it more sickening to take life away from someone who has really had a change to live, to kill off such innocence.

It's alright. Don't worry, I'm accepting to all religions. ^_^

link

What does necrophilia have to do with anything?

Oops, wrong link! When did I copy that link? Okay, here: link

"Death is terrible for anyone. Young or old, good or evil, it's all the same. That's why death is so fearsome. Your deeds, your age, your personality, your wealth, and your beauty are all meaningless in the face of death." - Sunako Kirishiki in Shiki

Nice use if that quote.

@Nick16 Sigh.Why do you have to guilt trip people by saying shame on those who _____ and yet ___?They chose this answer as their opinion and this poll has nothing to do with abortion.You don't have to make them feel ashamed about two opinions.Ooh,I bet they're SO scared they have a mixture of these opinions that they're going to repick their answer or change their mind.