Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Irish Judge Orders 13-Year-Old To Surrender Xbox

Posted by samzenpus on from the put-down-the-controller dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In Belfast a High Court judge has ordered a 13 year old to surrender his Xbox to the authorities. The boy was charged with a series of robberies and in the bail application the judge asked the boy what he owned that meant a lot to him. The teenager said it was his Xbox games system. The judge told the youth that the surrender of the Xbox would show him what it was like to have something he really valued taken from him."

2 of 445 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Accused but not yet convicted by bmo · · Score: 5, Informative

    ITT: everyone on slashdot but a few misunderstands what bail is.

    It's a guarantee of showing up to court. He gets his xbox back if he shows up to court. If he doesn't, it becomes property of the government. Explain how this is unreasonable.

    --
    BMO

  2. Re:Excellent! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    News Flash: You're not a behavioral psychologist either, chum, and your answer shows it. Stick with what you know.

    You're talking about Pavlov's-dogs-style behaviorism, the judge isn't. And by the way, behaviorism is out of favor "in general" as a strategy, but that doesn't mean it is discredited.

    So yeah, the judge isn't going to have the boy whipped (strict behaviorist strategy). Discomfort that encourages thinking about context is a different beast altogether, which is what the judge is proposing. This is more like putting your kid in time out and asking them to come back to you when they can explain why you are mad at them.