Somehow when I was very young (grade school) I saw two sides to this issue that I think many still miss as adults. Yes, individuals need to be responsible for their actions. However, society needs to be responsible for its actions as well. Texas is a great state if you have some money, but not so great if you are poor. As with many states, the War on Some Drugs decimated many African American communities here. These were already hurt by decades of discrimination (see my other response here for more on that). Texas does a very poor job at providing a social safety net. In Houston, over 50% of the kids are below the poverty level, yet the schools are woefully underfunded. THe grade school our daughters attended had a food and clothing bank and would give food to kids on the weekend and at holidays, because otherwise the kids would have nothing to eat. And to think that this is in a nice suburb of Houston. We have half the police force that we need and the city is constantly in budget crisis. However, because property values are up, Houston has to give school money to other parts of the state. Social responsibility is severely lacking in Texas. I find it very frustrating when I hear people say "why should I care about supporting poor kids, poor people--they are not my kids or my relatives". You need to care because if they have no other choice they will turn to selling drugs and committing crimes. Keep at it enough and it just becomes their way of life. So yes, lets hold a person who commits a crime accountable, but lets also hold society accountable for creating a system that pushes or allows so many to commit crimes. Clearly, there is a limit to what society can do--there are plenty of stories of wealthy people who also commit crimes, usually through fraud. In some sense though, society plays a role in that by making it easier for those with money to get away with crimes, by political favors, etc.