The stoners lack the skill to kill the child on their first attempt, and are compelled to try again. Some in the crowd are so horrified by what transpires that they attempt to stop it, and the militia are forced to fire upon them to restore order, killing a witness, and likely wounding others.

In the end a horrible miscarriage of justice that violates all who are involved.

It is easy, and tempting, to believe that this terrible event was the product of an exotic, primitive culture and religion. We blame it on the weaknesses of a society that is seemingly alien to our own, and don't to see that the the failings that caused it are really inherent in all societies.