Juvenile Justice.

Talking of juvenile crimes, I know there are crimes committed by children. And most times, well to me, I think most of this crimes are just mistakes, I mean not done intentionally even though we can't deny that at the end of the day it often leaves a deep wound in the lives of the victims. I won't deny the fact that this topic as well is a sensitive one that needs to be treated with caution because two things are involved, one is how that this young ones are just growing and learning to navigate life and they might st times not know what's right and what's wrong, the second is that we can't deny the fact that this young ones really cause and do real/great harms that can affect others.

Now, this is my own personal opinion. I for one do not believe that minors should be punished, handled, sentenced or treated the same way adults are being treated when they commit crimes. Age is still a factor to consider. And you will also agree with me that most of these minors act and do things without fully understanding what the long-term effect/consequences of their actions. I watched a movie some years back where a kid was asked to harm a lady while they threatened to kill her mum of she refused to, this small girl had to just do to save her mum who happens to be the only parent she has left.

That girl is still very young and does. Kt really understand what she did, maybe she would be k!lled too or sent to life imprisonment, she just did what she did. What I'm saying here is a lot of this kids are at times pressured, pushed or manipulated into doing what they do at times. Because at the end of the day, when the individual who threatened the small girl was caught what he said was that he didn't commit the crime and that whose fingerprint did they find on the weapon used. So, in situations like that, what do we do, what do they do too, punishing them like adults will only destroy their future.

Now, not every minor is innocent, their are some juveniles who really know what's wrong from what's not. Some of them even go to the extent of carefully planning atrocities and carry it out even though they knew it will affect and harm someone. So, when such happens I don't agree that we should let go of them just because they are under the age of 18. The fact that the perpetrator is young does not mean the harm done by them will disappear or that the pain caused will reduce.

So, erasing a person's juvenile records because they re now adults is something that should be looked into well and not just done or followed blindly. Some cases are actually serious and it won't be fair for the judge or a court to just say they want to give such person a second chance. So, I think it's best to look into another thing, and that's the she bracket. At a certain age, a child who made a mistake could do so out of ignorance and should be allowed to go without having to carry his/her record forever, but an older child who has maybe clocked the teen age definitely knows what he/she is doing and should face the consequences of their actions.

Also, while justice is needed in some areas, there are times that it's best to just send this juveniles to a rehabilitation centre or put them under some form of counseling and get them educated instead of locking them up in adult prisons that have a tendency of making them worse. So, for such and as matters that pertains to juveniles, I think the system should be little different with them so as not to in the name of punishment go and produce even more hardened criminals. It is enough to just let them know that the system cannot be too lenient with them and there's always a consequence to their harmful actions.

So, what I'm saying in essence is that minors should be treated differently from adults, not that they should be totally excused. And while judging any case regarding them, age, intention/motive, their level of understanding, and the severity of the case should be considered. All that is needed is just a balanced approach so as to protect the society, respect victims or their families while still allowing the young offenders to change and live a better life.

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