In October of 1994, two boys of the ages 11 and 10 dropped a 5-year old child from the 14th floor of a Chicago housing project. The boys did so intentionally because the toddler would not steal candy for them.
In May of 2008, two boys of the ages 7 and 9 strangled a two year old girl in an empty lot in Buenos Aires. It was determined that the boys were aware that they had done something wrong but did not explain why they killed her.
In the case of child murderers- how do you balance reform with revenge? It is easy to advocate for reform when speaking of theft, vandalism, and other small-scale crimes. So what should happen in the case of intentional 1st degree murder? In the case of the Chicago boys, the sentence was prison until 21 years of age. In Buenos Aires, there was no trial held. I would argue that neither of these outcomes are a sustainable solution to child murder.
The Chicago natives that will reenter society at the adult age of 21 will be unfamiliar with all aspects of modern day living. It has been established in my earlier posts that American juvenile detention centers lack resources for satisfactory reentry programs. So while they will be serving time for their actions, it is unlikely that they will receive adequate psychological, educational, and/or practical help or advise before entering the “real world”. Is it possible that they can assimilate to the environment that has changed so drastically since they left? Is it possible for them to operate in society as adults when the last time they were apart of non-incarcerated society they were not even teenagers? HECK NO!! C’mon now, I know even the slower readers have enough common sense to realize that this is a trap. It is a guaranteed throw-away of the future of these two children. If not back behind bars, it is likely that they will never get the chance to have a stable independent lifestyle. Now, of course, there is the issue of the crime being murder…and the murder being intentional…but does the intent of a child call for such punishments? As much as the families and friends of the 5-year old want “justice” (otherwise known as revenge), wouldn’t focus on rehabilitating these children be the utilitarian thing to do?
On the other hand…you have murder with no punishment or much attention at all. If part of the argument for juvenile reform is that children have the time and space to “change their ways” then who will guide them? If they continue on with life in normal society as is, how can they understand that their actions were wrong?
This is the part of my rant where I offer some sort of “happy medium” solution that is so painfully obvious everyone will wonder, “why the hell haven’t we been doing this all along?”
…I have noticed that my brain is filled with a lot more questions than answers, so I’ll have to get back to you bloggy-buds with the epiphany. Or if you have a solution, please, comment and let me know. Until then I continue the search for truth, voice, and justice (in the most non-cliché way possible)
Judge Juvi
No comments:
Post a Comment