The raging debate about lowering the age of majority of juveniles form the present 18 to the proposed 16, with one side wanting to make an example of the juvenile perpetrator who inflicted the maximum amount of pain and torture on the 23 year old Delhi brave heart Nirbhaya, while the other side advising utmost restraint and cautions as statistics and studies have revealed that almost 85% of all juveniles can be rehabilitated and redeemed with a judicious mixture of self realisation and counselling..........
Proponents of the status quo want the age of majority to continue to remain the same (i.e. 18 years of age) and have not tired of repeating themselves ad nauseum as they tout figures and statistics to the effect that the ages of 16 and 17 are windows of opportunity for reforming the offenders and making them contributory and stellar members of society........
While the contrarian view is that these lost souls are beyond redemption and that their punishment should be solely based on the gruesomeness, gravity and heinousness of the offence committed; the perpetrator of the barbaric crime neither showed any mercy or clemency to his victim, they opine, so then why should any mercy be shown to this cold blooded and soulless offender they go on to say....... Continuing on from the above:
There is no denying the fact that both these arguments are not without their respective merits, while one addresses the punitive and deterrent aspect of the law, the other addresses the reformative side of it and one cannot work in complete isolation from the other aspects of the law system........
A judicious mix of these two approaches would indeed be the best way forward; a special cell could or rather must be created within the national capitals' Tihar Jail and central jails in other state capitals wherein these offenders between the ages of 15 and 18 are exclusively housed or incarcerated........
These offenders shall only come in contact with others of their own age and their contact with elders shall be wholely and solely restricted to the jail staff and superintendent, their parents, law officers of the court and psychologists, psychiatrists and other child specialists who are making an effort to rehabilitate them and make them productive members of society.......
The cells which these offenders are housed in should have a welcoming and bracing feel to them rather than a cold or forbidding one; the inmates should be made to feel that they are being given an opportunity to redeem themselves rather than being ostracised and isolated..........
Psychologists, counsellors, life sustenance skill professionals and parents should be an integral part of this rehabilitative and restorative programme and only staff that either has the propensity to deal with the young persons incarcerated therein should be deployed in such barracks and other should be barred from entering the same.......
These children/ young people should be handed down terms of a minimum of three years and a maximum of ten years depending on the mitigating factors and severity of the crime committed, and only children of 15 years of age and above shall be lodged in these special facilities.........
Repeat and habitual offenders could however be made an example of and be tried as adults if the presiding judge so decrees........
Let these considerations and such others be the starting points of a comprehensive, far reaching and result oriented debate on the burning issue of crimes being committed by juveniles; a societal, judicial, educational and welfare oriented change or transformation is the crying need of the hour.........
Will experts from all these allied fields at long last put their heads together and conjure up a concrete and time bound plan of action or then will they continue to work at loggerheads as they are right now???? well your guess is as good as mine........
Proponents of the status quo want the age of majority to continue to remain the same (i.e. 18 years of age) and have not tired of repeating themselves ad nauseum as they tout figures and statistics to the effect that the ages of 16 and 17 are windows of opportunity for reforming the offenders and making them contributory and stellar members of society........
While the contrarian view is that these lost souls are beyond redemption and that their punishment should be solely based on the gruesomeness, gravity and heinousness of the offence committed; the perpetrator of the barbaric crime neither showed any mercy or clemency to his victim, they opine, so then why should any mercy be shown to this cold blooded and soulless offender they go on to say....... Continuing on from the above:
There is no denying the fact that both these arguments are not without their respective merits, while one addresses the punitive and deterrent aspect of the law, the other addresses the reformative side of it and one cannot work in complete isolation from the other aspects of the law system........
A judicious mix of these two approaches would indeed be the best way forward; a special cell could or rather must be created within the national capitals' Tihar Jail and central jails in other state capitals wherein these offenders between the ages of 15 and 18 are exclusively housed or incarcerated........
These offenders shall only come in contact with others of their own age and their contact with elders shall be wholely and solely restricted to the jail staff and superintendent, their parents, law officers of the court and psychologists, psychiatrists and other child specialists who are making an effort to rehabilitate them and make them productive members of society.......
The cells which these offenders are housed in should have a welcoming and bracing feel to them rather than a cold or forbidding one; the inmates should be made to feel that they are being given an opportunity to redeem themselves rather than being ostracised and isolated..........
Psychologists, counsellors, life sustenance skill professionals and parents should be an integral part of this rehabilitative and restorative programme and only staff that either has the propensity to deal with the young persons incarcerated therein should be deployed in such barracks and other should be barred from entering the same.......
These children/ young people should be handed down terms of a minimum of three years and a maximum of ten years depending on the mitigating factors and severity of the crime committed, and only children of 15 years of age and above shall be lodged in these special facilities.........
Repeat and habitual offenders could however be made an example of and be tried as adults if the presiding judge so decrees........
Let these considerations and such others be the starting points of a comprehensive, far reaching and result oriented debate on the burning issue of crimes being committed by juveniles; a societal, judicial, educational and welfare oriented change or transformation is the crying need of the hour.........
Will experts from all these allied fields at long last put their heads together and conjure up a concrete and time bound plan of action or then will they continue to work at loggerheads as they are right now???? well your guess is as good as mine........
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