OK, I’m probably going to take some heat on this one, but what is the point in having two classes of crime, adult and juvenile, if we are just going to arbitrarily throw juvenile out when a judge decides a crime is “really bad”? If a 10 year old isn’t a juvenile for all things, then what age is? 9? 8?
Why not just have one charge, in this case murder, that covers both and go to trial? Then, after conviction, let the factor of the perps age be considered (or not considered) by the judge at sentencing. Better than going through this Kabuki dance of he’s a juvenile, but because what he did was really bad, were going to pretend he’s not a juvenile in this case
I was writing my response as you were posting yours. Great Minds Think Alike.
It is weird, as most of the time the law is completely arbitrary (driving at 16; consenting for sex at 16; smoking at 18; drinking at 21; etc. etc.), with no regard for the fact that different people are at different maturity levels when they reach those ages, yet in this one instance there is nuance.
For less serious crimes it gives kids an opportunity to learn without minor infractions screwing up their entire life.
Keep in mind treating children like adults is a leftist goal. It frees them from the parents giving the state more control.
How many people can he kill before we are allowed to do anything?
“OK, I’m probably going to take some heat on this one,”
More heat. You should have read the article.
Personally, I’m willing to entirely dispose of the entire category of “juvenile crime” as a failed experiment. The crime is the same no matter what the criminal’s age.
I agree. And there reasons for why younger children are doing these sorts of things, like the girls did who acted out a murderous tale on a classmate. Children these days are exposed to moral mayhem in all sorts of ways. It’s almost completely up to the adults (very often not their parents) in their lives to preserve as much of their childhood innocence as possible while trying to guide them correctly. Then also, in many cases, antidepressants are given to troubled children already fed all sorts of mixed-up ideas and result in horrendous crimes, but the drug link is completely covered up.
A juvenile cannot be charged with homiciide in PA. Homicide implies intent and a real juvenile is not considered capable of intentionally taking the life of anyone. So, when intent is clear, they charge as an adult.