[Generated by meta AI](image source)
For as long as the human race has existed, crime has been a constant feature in every society regardless of how developed, well organized and structured it may be. No matter how hard we try, completely eliminating crime has proved impossible. As long as people continue to live together, conflicts are bound to happen, temptations will definitely push people towards breaking rules and regulations safeguarding societal interest. Laws are products of state governments to facilitate security and impose sanctions on wrongdoers but it still cannot eradicate that part of humanity that produces crime. Acknowledging that crime cannot be stopped completely, the question of how to tackle the issue becomes extremely difficult when the perpetrator happens to a child simply because even though the crime is dire and the consequences life-changing, the minor might still be in the developing phase to even properly comprehend the damage he/she might have caused. This brings us to a very difficult position surrounding these issues with questions about whether kids who commit crimes should face the same punishment as adults or see them as children still undergoing development and capable of changing if handled properly.
[Generated by CHATGBT](image source)
We life in a society where people always want justice for crimes committed against them so even if a minor commits a massive offense like rape, murder, robbery etc it is only natural that anger becomes the response towards these crimes. People want justice for the victim which usually comes as some sort of punishment that matches the length of the crime to show that the interests of the people and the society are protected. Every victim deserves to get justice and a crime should not be ignored simply because the culprit is underaged. It is however extremely important to note the difference between holding a child responsible for their offense and treating them like a fully fledged adult. Even though they are punished for what they did, the justice system should also recognize their age and make room for rehabilitation instead issuing out sanctions in respect to the crime.
Seven years ago, in a small city in Niger state, three 14 year olds committed a crime that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. These three boys whose name I won't mention but let's just call them John, Peter and David all lived in the same neighborhood (as do I) and attended the same Catholic Church so they all themselves almost everyday. One faithful Sunday morning after the first Mass, John borrowed a boy named Michael (not his real name) a pair of sunglasses his elder brother brought back home for him as a gift and that turned out to be the beginning of his brother. Anytime John asked Michael for his glasses, he would always give him flimsy excuses and make sure to dodge him in church. This went on for weeks until John got tired and told his two closest friends about it. They told him that they would go with him this fort coming Sunday to intimidate Michael into returning what he borrowed and also told John to go with a short kitchen Knife to scare him even more.
The day of reckoning finally came and all three friends waited for Michael on the road he took home. John walked up to him and asked for his glasses and as usual Michael was not saying anything positive. This caused a huge fight between the boys until John finally stabbed Michael in the chest and he dropped them almost immediately. Realizing what they had done, all three boys ran into hiding out of fear but they were all apprehended in the end. almost everybody who heard about the news wanted the boys to pay for what they did (especially the killer) largely due to the fact that Michael's mother was a widow and he helped her a lot both at home and in her business but unfortunately for them, all three boys were minors so it was certain that they were never getting the same sentence as adults. The boys were kept in Juvenile detention for months before they were finally realized to their respective families to face their new reality. They hid themselves from the public and when they finally had the courage to come out, they all seemed like different people especially John (mind you these boys were notorious trouble makers in the area but after this encounter they became very docile). They became completely different even going as far as ending the friendship. Even though it's still very hard for people to forgive their actions, I can still admit that the experience and what followed after really shaped their lives for the better.
[Generated by CHATGBT](image source)
These just goes to show that kids who commit felonies must learn that every action has its own consequence but that does not mean that they should be deprived of the opportunity to become good people. Even though crime should be largely discouraged for kids, it should done in such a way that we don't create an environment that creates future criminals out of them. Thank you.
