Most of these things, I usually see them in movies. But recently, it became a reality when I heard that a sixteen-year-old was part of those who followed some people to perform a robbery operation. The first thing that came to my mind was simple: 'He is still a small boy. Then I imagined those they went to victimize, and my thoughts became less simple that very moment.
While I was growing up and even till now, I saw how stubborn some boys were and how peer pressure could influence their decisions so easily. Back in junior school, a lady, my classmates once took one of our teachers' phones. I didn't know what came over her. But when it was announced and everyone's bag was searched, it was found in hers, and she couldn't deny it. She was publicly beaten by one of the teachers. I wonder what would have happened if nobody stopped her.
And this is one of the main reasons why I struggle with treating every teenage offender like a helpless child. Yes, age is a big factor, but the consequences of that age cannot be taken away. If a sixteen-year-old decides in his mind to just wake up and become violent by carrying a weapon just to hurt someone, are we going to tell the victim that the offender is just a child just for them not to be offended? That seems unfair. That is why I will say our society can always do better and always protect people from the young criminals who might later become extremely dangerous. Because little things usually start from small.
But treating a minor as an adult and trying them should not be done as if they have an adult mind. According to biology, if I'm right, it takes the brain like twenty to twenty-five years to fully develop, and also a lot of these teenage offenders are mostly from broken homes. Some of them are bathing in poverty, especially in a bad economy and environment that abuses them. So, punishing them might just harden some minds to become better criminals. Prison can turn into a school when the child who did wrong comes in contact with the wrong people and there's no guidance.
So looking at this question again, I feel the right question we should be asking is whether these minors deserve the punishments they are given. They do. It depends on the kind of punishment that gives society the best chance of seeing fewer victims tomorrow.
Those among them who commit a great offense should be taken into a special room to face the consequences, but also they should be rehabilitated, given proper education, counselled, and properly assessed on their background. A sixteen-year-old child who violates the law should not just be handled as if such a kid had the brain of a forty-year-old. There is a big difference.
What bothers me mostly is that some say being soft means being careless. Because when I look deeply into this situation, accountability simply means doing what is right by refusing to waste the life of such a child when they can simply be put on the right path.
And maybe we can also be calm enough not just to conclude and ask ourselves what made the child do what was done and what made that child be capable of acting on what was done. Though none of these questions excuse the crime, especially the second. They are just methods and measures to prevent the child's next action.
Thank you for reading.
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