Aden Jefferies - Todd Lasance

[doola]

I second that and to rub salt in the wound one thing that STILL bothers me is the whole incident regarding Axel, where let’s face it he basically got away with GBH.

I agree. The whole Axel thing was ridicuously badly handled. It was treated as an act without consequence, and its only purpose, as far as I can see, was for the viewers to gain some insight into the inner turmoil the character of Aden was going through at the time.

We didn't know explicitly at that point IIRC that Aden was abused, so I believe it was used as an outward demonstration of the anger Aden was feeling towards his abuser, and I guess to try and bring the viewer more quickly to the realisation that Aden was abused. It's a pity the way it was done, as it is a blight on an otherwse near perfect storyline.

(Just to add: Its a real shame that they decided to kill off Axel. It could have been interesting viewing to see Aden and Axel try to rebuild a friendship after Aden's abuse came to light. Even now, Aden has no male friends of his own age to hang out with - I'm not counting Geoff, as I'm in the camp that don't want to see them become best pals. Apart from it not being realistic, its much more entertaining watching them rile each other up!)

Edited March 16, 2009 by doola

[Red Ranger 1]

^I think we did know about Aden's abuse at that point, it was after Larry had told Rachel about it and after he'd started living at Roman's.It seemed to be one more step on the road to the kidnap incident, with Aden wanting to punish someone for his abuse, he seemed to beat up Axel as a substitute for his grandfather and then do the same with Larry once he discovered his true place in things.

I do wish they hadn't killed Axel, it was a waste of a character who still had potential, although I think his friendship with Aden was pretty much dead in the water:I can only remember two scenes together after the beating, both of which involved Aden getting physical with him, and his reaction to his death was practically non-existent, he was, perhaps understandably, more bothered about Larry being involved.I agree I don't want to see Aden and Geoff become friends, it would be too out of character, keep them just being civil.The scene where Aden came to pick Belle up for the formal was pitched perfectly:Aden unable to resist the opportunity to wind him up and Geoff giving him a "Oh, I've got to deal with you again, have I?" look.

[grumble bum]

I like Aden when he is not with Drama queen Belle. Belle drags him down. He is better of with some one new who respects him.

Aden still should of been punished for what he did. A stint in Jail would of done.

[adellejefferiesxox]

I dont think Belle drags him down, and I think Belle does respect him. I thought they ep with them sitting at the surf club was soo cute!! With his hand on her leg, awww. lol. Looking forward to more adelle.

[gazzalovesu]

I like Aden when he is not with Drama queen Belle. Belle drags him down. He is better of with some one new who respects him.

Aden still should of been punished for what he did. A stint in Jail would of done.

Yeah i like the old Adelle Belle has kinda stuffed it up (but she is still ok sometimes)

and if everyone got punished for what they did than everyone would be in Jail

[Red Ranger 1]

I'm finding it hard to think of another character who deliberately tried to kill someone and escaped jail. (Although there probably are some.)I get that they wanted him to stay in the show but he could have got six months, out in three without it affecting things too much.Instead, they basically said what he did didn't matter.

[Jamey-Maria]

No they delved into the realms of what continual physical sexual abuse can do to someone's state of mind. The legal system is not supposed to be there to uphold the law above people's welfare and nothing else, it's why they consider individual circumstances. They didn't condone what he did at all, but they accounted for the fact that the suffering he went through made what he attempted understandable to an extent. And instead of punishing him they worked at rehabilitating him which was much more effective after recognising he obviously needed help. If they had of sent him to jail he would have come out ten times worse.

[Red Ranger 1]

I disagree.What exactly did they do to rehabilitate him, get him to clean a couple of walls?There's no reason he couldn't be rehabilitated in prison:It might not work for everyone but then neither does giving him a slap on his wrist and sending him on his way.To my mind, the seriousness of his crimes warranted a custodial offence but apparently if you say you're sorry and make a big speech about your terrible childhood they'll let you off.The real problem with this argument is the complete inconsistency:His father and brother were both abused, which probably led to their crimes, but everyone seems quite happy to leave them to rot in jail.What Aden did to Axel was exactly the same as what his brother did to Ric, never mind what he did to his father and the others, but he's apparently still in prison four years on and Aden got off scot free.

[Jamey-Maria]

What exactly did they do to rehabilitate him. There's no reason he couldn't be rehabilitated in prison: It might not work for everyone but then neither does giving him a slap on his wrist and sending him on his way

But that did work for Aden which is my point. The counseling sessions they used to rehabilitate him made him realise what he did was wrong, which up until that point as his realisation with the counselor showed, he couldn't see past the pain his father was responsible for him going through. I don't see why someone who has had to suffer through what Aden has, and the resulting behaviour that came out of it shouldn't be shown the leniency he was. I'm not saying he's absolved of responsibility but it had huge significance in explaining why he did what he did. Sending him to jail wouldn't have rehabilitated him, it would have placed him in an environment that would have made him more violent, more aggressive and sent him ten steps in the opposite direction. He wasn't a danger to anyone, (and before you mention Axel I agree that it was ridiculously badly handled, but aside from that and it being before his counseling, he wasn't a danger to anyone) clearly the judge thought that someone who'd been through what he had, as soon as he'd realised the severity and of his actions and what was wrong, wouldn't benefit from being sent to jail and wouldn't help him in any way. If I remember correctly Axel received community service just as Aden did for an attempted assault on Melody. If you were talking about adults then they wouldn't have been treated as leniently, (because of the assumption that young people aren't always in the right frame of mind to form proper intent or because they don't fully comprehend the consequences or gravity of their actions) but the legal system tries its best to rehabilitate children and & young persons rather than sending them to jail and making them worse "criminals" than what they were before they even went in. That's without even considering that as a young person Aden's personal circumstances would have affected his behaviour and mental capacity/pressure to cope if he hadn't properly been taught to deal with the realisation that the one person in the world that was supposed to protect him was the reason he was so hurt.

Edited March 20, 2009 by Jamey-Maria

[Zetti]

Good point Krystal especially about Axel. You summed it up perfectly