Imagine a situation as a mother or a father of two children, both below the age of 10. While at work, the parents receive a call from the police station informing them that one of their children has been stabbed to death by a seven-year-old child in the same compound. The parents rush down, see the lifeless body of their child, cry their eyes out, and are overwhelmed with grief. In that moment, they feel the urge to go and hurt the child who killed their own, but then they realize that taking the law into their own hands could cause serious trouble. They take a step back, channel the case to the police, and demand immediate justice and judgment.
However, they are stopped and told that the child who committed the crime is underage and, as such, no charge can be issued against the child or the parents. They're push to weep and mourn in silence, and the child remaining always remind them of the death of the other one.
God forbid, but if you were to be the parent of the deceased child, how would you feel?
That is exactly the situation of the world, how children's crimes are not handled by the law in the same way adult crimes are handled. I would say that parents, and even children, should try as much as possible to avoid becoming victims of another child's negative actions.
Although I have learned that some parts of the world operate with a system where they wait for the child to come of age before trying them in court as an adult, this system somehow feels balanced, even though its effectiveness cannot be guaranteed in some countries, especially in my country, Nigeria. Before the child grows to adulthood, the parents might have already "bought off" the case.
However, a child, truthfully, does not have the ability to control anger to a large extent or to clearly distinguish between good and bad. Judging a child's crime in the same way as an adult's crime would be very unfair, and I fully support the way the world has structured it, having a special sector where children's cases are handled appropriately.
That said, I would prefer it to be balanced by keeping the judgment or punishment pending until the child becomes an adult. This would make parents more serious about instilling good morals in their children, because any bad act committed while they are still very young would eventually be addressed, and punishment would be given when they reach adulthood. And just as I said earlier, if the laws of the country are not corrupt, this could help create a more balanced system.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to Week 211, Edition 03 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community