Honestly, I wasn't one of the voters for this prompt because I really want to write on it, I voted for it because it was a matter that needed to be talked about more. More than writing or sharing my thought on it, I wish to read from others to know what they really think about this matter that seem to be taken lightly than should.
I haven't seen an entry on it yet so I'll just go ahead to share mine and check back later for more thoughts, I guess this would even give me more clear head to say exactly what I think about juvenile crimes and how I think it should be done rather than what is being done especially in other sides of the world, I doubt Nigeria bothers at all.
With what I understand from movies and stories I've heard, without going on any research at the moment, Juvenile crimes are those crimes committed by children (babies to teens below 18 or specified adult age). The crimes ranges from stealing from a neighbor to taking the life of another, these little ones don't get imprisoned.
I believe the justification is quite clear, they are still kids and don't know what they are doing so they should be forgiven and not be punished for their crimes. I don't know how this law actually got to take place in those countries where it is allowed, what I think is, there's too much wrong about it if we consider some factors around it.
I remember in my childhood days, I would hear stories of some boy being stoned or burned to death for stealing in the market place. And if they had bothered about his age being 15 or 17, I bet they won't think of doing that to him but they considered the crime committed first and acted on that. I'm not saying they were right to do that.
But the point from that is, considering the crime of a person is just as important as checking for the age and background of the person to know the motive behind that crime committed. There's no crime that doesn't affect another negatively, I believe that is why it's called a crime, someone have been hurt or be put into danger or killed.
The Bible describes Heaven as a place where everyone will be like the little children because children are innocent and they are blessings from God. But here on earth, it is clear when a child is no longer innocent but actually knows what he or she is doing especially when doing the wrong thing. Children are very curious especially at teen.
I think it's only right I say it here that a lot of what children get curious about and tend to act on are from what their parents or guardians allow them to know without proper education on the advantages or consequences of involving in them. It's okay for children to be curious but it is the duty of parents to teach them where it goes.
But in these places where there's such law protecting children even when they commit crimes and the children are aware of it without proper guide about what actually committing a crime would cost them in life even without punishment from the law, the children tend to act with the mind that they'll be free by law anyways.
I know having a clean record matters a lot especially in these countries, maybe that's another reason these children are allowed to go scotfree with their crimes. But I believe there are crimes that can not be overlooked for any reason, even the age of the criminal and one of them is murder, someone is killed, a family has a void that can never be filled years after the kid grows.
Parents have a role to play before any crime is planned and executed, the law have a role to play to make sure the kid understands the gravity of his or her actions and the child has a role to play not to take advantage of the laws given to protect them. I believe serial criminals among the children are not taken lightly, that'd be so crazy.
Image used is AI generated.