You feel up to addressing Thompson and Venable?
At their ages at the time of the event, I would not have supported a death sentence for either. A stint in a psychiatric hospital to figure out what is going on in those young brains is certainly in order. Obviously, in the case of Venable, this was not enough. He has been arrested for possession of child porn.
This is an important issue to be discussed. We know what a pattern of behavior that many future serial killers follow as young children. There are early warning signs that indicate a child is or could be on the path of becoming a serial killer.
You raise a valid point about young killers and think the answer lies in intent. A six year old playing with a gun that he knows not to play with accidentally shoots and kills a sibling or parent. The child's intent was not to murder anybody so he is not guilty of a capitol crime. Two preteens intentionally kidnap and kill a child just for fun. Their intent was to commit a murder. They must be dealt with accordingly. BUT, a summary execution is probably not the right answer in this case either because we must first determine whether those 10 year olds truly understand what they did was wrong.