The Trial of Adrian Peterson

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Adrian Peterson is a professional American football player for the Minnesota Vikings. He recently was charged with a criminal offence for spanking his 4 year old son with a switch and leaving bruises and cuts on his body. This case has a lot of people talking. I think mostly because he is a celebrity and because spanking is always a highly debated topic.

According to the Huffington Post, ideas of corporal punishment seem to differ between races and different cultures. The one culture they say is most likely to agree with spanking is southern American communities. The article by The Huffington post is titled “Even Supporters Of Spanking Think What Adrian Peterson Did Should Be Illegal”. The title kind of sums up how I feel about the incident because I do support parents who chose to spank their children, however; I don’t believe it is right to use objects to discipline a child especially as young as 4 years old.

The fact that Adrian Peterson left bruises and cuts on his son says that the force he used was excessive. I think it was appropriate for him to be charged criminally. If convicted, I think the appropriate punishment would be for Peterson to have to commit to parenting classes and community service. I think forcing a jail sentence would be counter-productive. It would leave a young child without a parent in the home and would not provide any rehabilitation.

How do you feel about Adrian Peterson being charged in this matter? Was it the right call by law enforcement? Feel free to comment below.

References

Huffington Post - Parents (2014) Even Supporters Of Spanking Think What Adrian Peterson Did Should Be Illegal September 18^th, 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/18/spanking-poll_n_5843370.html