23. Kids Murdering Kids: Derrick Joseph Robie

Prison is supposed to be reformatory. And until he proved otherwise, you can say that it has worked for him. And I'm not trying to downplay that he killed another child. I'm just saying we need to be realistic.

Shanelle Santoro

I understand that that family had a child taken away from them, but what they have to realize is that he was a child too. A victim of his environment that never got the help that he deserved. That help would have saved their child as well as him. I understand the anger that they have for their child being taken away, but I guarantee if you ask them if their son was going through what this child was going through before he committed a heinous act, they would say that they would do everything in their power to make sure he got the help that he needed. His family didn't do that and I think his family is partially responsible for why Derek is no longer with us.

Shanelle Santoro

Agreed. Reform has alot to do with the way our brains are wired and how easy it is to adapt new ways of thinking. The fact that he committed these terrible terrible crimes at the age of 13 is absolutely horrible. But for therapy and reforming he was at the age where he could receive it the best. Help was too late but not too late for reform. The human frontal lobe is mature at the age of 25. He still had many years to mature and fix himself. Such a tragedy. My heart aches for the family of poor Derrick and this whole case got chills down my spine 💔.

I agree. What he did was heinous and by no means am I using this as an excuse or justification- but he needed help clearly. He asked for it and didn’t get it. I also hope he received what he needed in prison.

Janessa Stegall

100% with you, I think he should've never got out

Personally myself I have 2 kids and if someone ever did that to my child I would never want them to be released from prison. That’s where he should’ve stayed

I definitely believe that everything has to do with nature AND nurture. If he would have had the help he needed maybe it would not have happened. In prison he was offered that help it seems (I hope). Reform is possible, maybe not for everyone, but it is possible.

This is so kind thank you🖤🥲

I live in Germany now which has a justice system completely different from the US. Justice is defined as rehabilitation and community safety, and seeing the perpetrator punished and miserable is not seen as part of that (which is why victims and families are not involved in sentencing). Instead, prisons are humane environments, and incarceration is focused on psychological evaluation and rehabilitation. To get to the psychology of why a crime was committed in the first place, work through that, and then release them gradually back into the community once a team of psychiatric professionals are certain a crime will not be committed again. I thought a lot about that in this case because the insight the killer had into his own actions as a child and also the honest self-evaluation of “yes I would have done it again,” would have started the supervised and gradual process of his reintroduction to society, had that kind of insight been verified by a professional who was willing to attest he was no longer a threat. But that kind of rehabilitation is not the goal of incarceration in the US and therefore doesn’t receive the same kind of resources. I feel more confident in the safety of someone who had been working to rehabilitation with a professional for a very real chance at release than someone for whom a safe release was never the end goal of the professional’s work. I suppose the answer to “should he have been let out” comes down to 1) what do you think “justice” means and 2) do you think the US system is an environment in which rehabilitation is possible. I think a system focused on rehabilitation and release is most just, I’m not sure that the inhumanity of American prisons produces an environment in which that is likely. (Worth noting that Germany has much lower rates of violent crime and recidivism than the US. People released form a German prison are way less likely to commit the same crime again than their American counterparts.)

You’re doing such a Great job covering the cases especially involving children. It can be hard to make a respectful AND interesting video because the line is so easily crossed by true crime reporters sometimes but you definitely do a good job of doing both ❤️