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Are some people born evil? Sociopathic behavior often appears at a young age, but how do you differentiate a sociopathic youth from a teenager who is challenged with making good decisions? Should the justice system try a sixteen-year-old murderer as an adult or a child? What about a twelve-year-old who murders his mother and his brother? Can the juvenile system rehabilitate him before his mandatory release at age nineteen?

Sources:

Alaska News. “Minor in custody after Monday slayings of mother and son in Meadow Lakes.” February 2, 2016. Anchorage Daily News.

Boots, Michelle Theriault. “Ruling in Winona Fletcher appeal opens door for Alaska’s handful of juvenile lifers to contest their sentences.” August 13, 2024. Anchorage Daily News.

Brooks, James. “Alaska Court of Appeals upholds 1995 murder conviction despite key witness reversing testimony.” December 3, 2025. Alaska Beacon.

Maxwell, Lauren, and Joe Allgood. “Alaska man who killed mom, brother at age 12 makes plea in new murder case.” March 9, 2026. KTUU AK News Source.

McDonnell, Augusta. “Child murderer held in state juvenile custody for longest time allowed by law, before recent arrest for 2023 murder.” March 10, 2026. KTUU AK News Source.

O’Connor, Brian. “Grief stricken friends remember Meadow Lakes murder victims.” February 2, 2016. Frontiersman.

Treinen, Lex. “Alaska Senate bill would give juveniles with long prison sentences a chance at parole.” April 5, 2021. KTOO News.

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Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing.

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