SUPPORT ! Really......

Really, I am just stunned by this. I saw those mothers on the news tonite weeping about this "kid" and how he should be charged as a juvenile. Complete and utter Bravo Sierra. He executed his father. There is no excuse for this behavior. People grow up in bad homes all the time (people I know) and make themselves better. This "free rob" campaign is inexcusable. He committed MURDER. He will be PUNISHED. He did not commit some act where his Constitutional rights were in question and he was unjustly incarcerated. THAT is what a "Free So and So" campaign is for, and an immediate and famous comparison that I would make would be the " Free Nelson Mandela " campaign.

I do NOT care if Richardson is a nice boy. He committed a MURDER. He killed his FATHER, his sole surviving parent and thus rendering him an instant orphan. There is NO excuse for deliberate homicide, which the case seems to clearly present. If he had done a legitimate act of self defense, the first call would be to 911, not to go hide the body and then run from the police.

Actions speak louder than words.

If he was in fact being abused, it would certainly explain why he might have "snapped". Doesn't excuse it of course, but does offer an explanation from a psychological stand point. But is there anything documented or confirmed? Or is everybody just assuming, based on what he did?

Gee, I used to get beat by a belt, I should have just murdered my father in cold blood and then all these liberals could have supported me too?

Where's the proof of abuse? People should be ashamed, talking ill of a dead man when they have no idea what went on in the house. And someone says he is innocent? Regardless of what drove this murderer to murder, he's still a murderer who murdered. So NO, he is FAR from innocent.

Oh and I got banned from the facebook page for questioning these kids, one kid even was saying they should report innocent people if they even think there is any hint of abuse. Great, start reporting innocent people. Do a search on Kirk Bloodsworth, he was an nnocent man and spent 20 years in prison.

Mark - Those seem like excellent reasons to kill someone and dump their body in a pond. Please, enlighten us more with your logic.

The police were called to his house because he ran away, never said he didn't want to go home because of abuse. Lots of kids run away, as evidence of the two in the last month on the Bel Air Patch alone.

It sickens me how many people are looking to place blame elsewhere. This is NOT the county's fault. For all these allegations to abuse I have yet to see proof. And as for all the people "coming forward" now. Where were all of YOU when all this abuse was supposedly happening?

You know, I'm sorry, but abuse doesn't justify murder. People suffer through poor abusive households all the time and don't murder people. If this was some poor kid from the city this would be a totally different story. People would be screaming for justice. Not in Harco, no we'd rather make excuses for it because Harford County kids can do no wrong.

He may be a hurt kid, but he is still a murderer. A murderer who methodically dumped his father's body in a pond. It's nice to know that we live in a community where so many people seem to be absolutely alright with that.

Ashley....5...4...3...2...1; let the onslaught of vile accusations and kneejerk hateful speech begin. How dare you not not coddle the widdle kids; his clothes didn't fit remember.

Where were these women when he was being abused? If his life was so bad, why didn't they support the kid then and get him help? Why didn't his "friends" report this to a teacher, counselor or even CPS? If he was truly abused, you should have been looking for justice then. I think "mothering" is too late. He made a conscience decision to kill his father. For that, justice must be served.

None of you will make it to the jury room and you are all steadily planting the seeds of a mistrial. I am reading the writings of opinionated folk on the lunatic fringe of the body politic.

There are more reports of abuse and the county doing nothing about it that are surfacing. People can speculate all you want but unless you are in that situation or one similar you have no idea what you would do. You think he had a great plan when he shot his father? My presumption would be he was desperately in fear. If "these Moms" knew about it before, and I am one of them, we would have done something. Who failed to report what he was going through and there ARE reports of abuse at CPS. It truly saddens me the hateful comments people make with little or no facts or simply minimizing the whole situation. An alleged abusive father is dead and a young boys life is pretty much ruined. Perhaps the hatemongers should reserve their judgements. Whoever is without sin, cast the first rock...

I am appalled at these tearful, caring, concerned people coming forward now to support this lost soul. Where the #$^% were you all when this alleged abuse was going on? Why did these people allow such horrible abuse and neglect go on for years, keeping quiet, turning a blind eye to it, yet now want their 15 minutes in the spotlight? What has this society come to? Why didn't anyone advocate for this child when he needed them the most?If you saw issues in elementary school, why did you not speak up then? Now he is a child in prison, waiting to find out his fate, and that can be a scary thing for anyone, much less a child. That said, he did commit a crime, one that may have been more excusable if he had not driven his dead father's body around the county looking for a place to dump it. This is a sad situation any way you look at it, and ultimately, it is not for us to judge the actions of this boy. It will be for a judge, jury and God in the end. I feel that the police and CPS would rather respond to a thousand abuse and neglect calls than to one murder call any day.
All that said, the question should be, how can we keep this from happening again? Education. Educate yourselves, your families, your children in trying to stop abuse against children, people, and animals. Learn what steps we as a community can take to reporting such abuse, and how we can follow through with the proper authorities to ensure the safety of our children. Let's all become proactive instead of reactive.

My lord...listen to the waa, waa club. A whole bunch of people need to break away from Oprah because it's starting to melt your minds. Hard to imagine how we've arrived a place in our culture where at least half of us find some justification for somebody not only shooting someone else, but dumping their body in a pond like an old tire. Indeed time will tell what happened in this home, but in the meantime all those who want to wring your hands about what "we" should have done and salivate over yet another county or state program for troubled kids that doesn't work and serves basically nobody - there are programs, systems, etc. It's available to anybody ad nauseum but they don't have esp...if you don't ask for help they won't know you need it. Without evidence of impending physical attack from his father that put him in fear of his life he's nothing better than any run of the mill murderer; the only reason these women want to wrap thier arms around him is he's a white kid from the suburbs.

A true democracy depends on the premise that all are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Period.

Ashley, certainly not with Obama in office methodically dismantling it...

This case will be tried in Somerset or Garrett County. A change of venue will be at the top of an attorney's to-do list.

Well I was going to give my thoughts on this but after reading all of the nonsense I feel like my head is going to explode. Some of you need to climb down off your soap box!!

Aw, people aren't saying nice things about a murderer. What a surprise. I bet his dad didn't think it was nice when he shot him.

I wonder if these ladies who are supporting this murderer will let him come live in their home with their families when he is freed. After all he is just a juvenile so he will need a home. If he is so innocent lets send him to live with them!

It's amazing how many idiots come out of the wood works when someone commits a heinous crime. Free Rob, Free Donnelle, Free Reddish. Give me a break. Anyone supporting this kid should be ashamed of themselves. He committed patricide. It is one of the most horrible things one can do. There is NO EXCUSE. I am sickened by the misplaced compassion illustrated by these infantile and ignorant comments in support of this confessed murderer. Why not express compassion for the poor dead man who lost his wife and then suffered his death at the hands of the child he obviously cared about as demonstrated by the many times he called the police to help find his troubled son. Where were you people when he needed consoling and comfort after losing his spouse? Your choice to come to the defense of a confessed murderer is beyond asinine and is just plain stupid.

Some members of your community may well understand that the process of inferring motive is a critical part of any murder prosecution. That process determines whether a first or second degree murder conviction is warranted or whether a manslaughter charge is indicated. It also has a lot to do in the sentencing phase of the trial. This is a long-standing practice in the legal process, a logical one as well. Have you noticed the general reaction regardless of whether one wants the boy to be ritually sacrificed or merely scolded: why did he do it?

The hysteria is unnecessary. Harford County and the State of Maryland have laws and courts.

"Amen Nick! And the kids and parents who started the facebook page are attention whores, nothing more."
Totally agree with this statement, as well as the one about letting this child live with the so-called caring mothers. Again I ask, where were these people when the alleged abuse/neglect was happening? These people want to rally around this kid now, yet turned the other cheek when they saw the signs of abuse and neglect. Not yammering on the news or in the papers about that were they? It is so easy to be an ostrich and stick our heads in the sand, but who does that help? Sweep it under the rug! If we don't talk about it, it really isn't happening, right? But bring out a camera crew and a reporter and everyone wants to talk. Not for the benefit of the child or his family, but to be able to call all their friends and tell them to tune in and see them on the tv. Instead of being an ostrich, be an advocate. Get involved with your kids and their friends before it is too late and another tragedy grips our community.

Ashley, many other possibilities are taken into account during the legal process. For details, you might look at Chapter 14 of the Maryland Sentencing Guideline Manual. http://bit.ly/z8kHMa

If you didn't hear it with your own ears or see it with your own eyes,
Don't invent it with a small mind and share it with your big mouth

Point being, no one knows what happened except for the obvious. Anything else is speculation at this point

I'm not going to jump into the negative name calling but I want to voice my opinion .... I wound really like to know the facts !!!!! But I do feel sorry for this young man if he in fact was abused as some say. I am a survivor of physical , mental, and sexual abuse at the hands of mother..... No body protected me. I moved out at 17 with a year of school left...... I would not have killed her but we don't know what this child went through !!!!!! I wish he would have had a safe place ..... He should be tried as a juvenile .... I will be watching this case closely ..... PS I am now 42 years old and a mother of two .... I would never raise my hand to abuse my children, and will do everything I can to protect them.... My mother is still alive I have kit spoken to her in 12 years, no will I have anything to do with her ..... The day she dies us the day I will have peace...... We need to listen and protect the children !!!!!!

I will add, if a time comes and it does come out the Harford County Social Services knew of this or the Sheriff's Dept and did nothing, they should share in the prison time with this kid.

It's amazing to me the negative responses from some of these people. Teachers are under paid and over worked as it is, and if they did say something so many people are sue happy these days it might back fire on them. As for the moms on tv I think they are great for what they are doing. And I know a couple of them and they would gladly take Robert into their house and give him the love he needs.This kid is just one of many lost in the system that is broke of what it needs. There is so much more coming out now from Roberts freinds as to what really happened in that house. And if you were 16 years old and been threatened would you come forward and ask for help. How many abused women don't come forward because they are scared of the abuser? Maybe if the people on here that are bashing people trying to do a good deed would do a good deed themsevles the world would be a better place. But then again thats why the world is full of negative people.

I'm not saying what he did was right because it wasn't. Yes he commited murder but locking him up in a prison for the rest of his life is not the answer. The boy needs help but he also has to pay for what he did. You and I don't know what was happening the night that he killed his father. Was he being threatened with a gun? Was he being beat on? If we lock him up and throw away the key all we have done is create another taxpayer bill for a prisoner in jail. I'm close to alot of my kids friends and they tell me more stuff than they tell their parents because they can't talk to their parents. Maybe if more parents listened to their kids and spent time with them and talked to them we wouldn't have so many troubled kids. But most parents are to busy trying to keep up with the Jones's and not raising their kids. He is 16 years old and was raising himself he wore the same clothes to school for a week. I've been told that he lived on noodles and ice tea. He was probably scared and didn't know what to do or who he could talk to. Put yourself in that position. Why were the cops there 12 times in 6 months and never any charges. Was it because he was scared to talk or was he threatened not to talk.

I've said many times that the only way this would be somewhat acceptable would be if his life was in danger. I honestly don't believe that's the case though as he took the time to try and hide the body. If it was a case of self defense why do that? No one will know the truth until this boy has his day in court, but I truly and honestly do not believe for one minute that this was self defense.

You think this boy deserves another chance if he was abused? How about the second chance for his father? Does a killer have more rights than an abuser? There are no excuses in life, you make choices and have to accept the consequences that come along with them.

People can shout and cry and say all they want that the system failed this kid because he was poor, mommy wasn't around, he had hand me down clothes. Give me a break. Life is hard, but you suck it up and you do what you have to do to get through it. If he chose not to ask for help from people, that's his prerogative, but it shouldn't be used to try and say this was a justified killing. The tools are there for people to use, if they choose not to, that's their problem. You know the saying: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

Maybe people need to step back and think about it this way:

What it the worst crime somebody could commit?

Killing someone with premeditation. It is irrelevant if the person killed is mean or not.

Maybe the cops were there because the kid was BAD, oh noooooeeees, that couldn't be a possibility now could it. Personal responsibility is DEAD. The pussification of America is almost complete...

Take Responsibility! is an American hero, a scholar, and a man's man.

I believe some on here could better educate themselves from forensic psychology on parricide

What is parricide; the killing of parrots? I assume you mean patricide. Sure somebody needs and education...

LOLOL, umm Karl, psssst

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patricide

Patricide defined by Merriams is "one who murders thier own father".

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parricide

Parricide defined by Merriams is "one who murders a close relative" - it doesn't leave out perhaps a father or a mother but certainly isn't specific to "parents"; but I'll let the correction stand however patricide is more typical and specific to what happened here. Melissa just grabbed the less accurate word in her word search.

I would call Melissa out on pretending she's some expert. Surfing the web and watching Oprah don't make one an expert. I would also call her out on assuming all forms of horrible on this father - she knows nothng about what actually happened here. The mans other children have stated already for the record there was no abuse.

Melissa - Knowing not to murder somebody is ingrained in our very culture. If he's not learning that from everyday life then we have a much bigger problem on our hands. I do know for a fact that I wouldn't kill somebody unless my life was in danger, something which all evidence presented has been pointing away from. Furthermore, if my brother killed one of my parents, I do know that I would NEVER forgive him. There is no explanation he could give me aside from them threatening to kill him that would convince me that it was okay.

And honestly, all of you, do you truly believe that abuse is a worse crime than murder? The true victim here is the boy's father, who will never get a chance to make any changes in his life.

The boy may be a product of a crappy upbringing, but that is not a justification for killing somebody. We are not neanderthals.

Nobody, myself included is justifying this youth taking his fathers life. However, there are, as I have been informed by an attorney, cases of abuse that CPS was involved in with this boy involving his father. Being myself one of those involved in the cause to help out in raising funds for his legal expenses, and aquiring good legal representation for him, many people, family members as well, have come forward with many horrifying stories of what they witnessed this boy being put through.

Melissa is pro murder.

Robyn - Why would you think it's OK to thwart the authorities who need to gather evidence? You do realize any evidence given to one side must be shared with the prosecutors anyway.

Stop making sense Karl. These bleeding hearts think that they can skew the facts and make their little murderer look innocent. Guess what, it's not going to happen!

I always wondered what sort of whacky women would write letters to serial killers and other such insanity...now I know.

It's quite a complicated story and it's actually hard to say something without arguments. You can't be sure that one person or other did something. You can never be sure. Thanks for the interesting article though. Keep them coming.
Regards, Brad from http://www.azoft.com/