Oh for the love of Pete!
No one is suggesting that the way he was brought up is an excuse for what it did! Or that it should get him off the hook, or anything else of that nature. Whether it was right or wrong and whether or not he was intelligent enough to make the decision not to do it was not in question. The subject was brought up as one of many possible FACTORS that could have possibly ATTRIBUTED to his decision and WHY he acted the way he did.
The first think I though when I heard about this was "How on Earth could anyone think this is acceptable and anything BUT cruel?" There must be a reason, right? Well, this is a suggesting reason, an underlying basis for his decision. I'm not trying to decide if he was right or wrong. I think he was as wrong as you can get and I too hope they give him the maximum punishment possible. YES, like it or not, there is a gray area...many more contributing factors that relate to the events other than just 'did he do it and was he wrong.'
