Shame on the youth :'(

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January 04

A 64-year-old disabled woman is recovering in a Montreal hospital after surviving an attack that left her stabbed, beaten and without her car.

~CTV.ca news staff

For full article: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1104858493422_100267693/?hub=Canada

Four 16-24 year olds surrounded an elderly woman, stabbed and beat her before they stole her car. Authorities arrested the 17 year old driver of the car thanks to the canine unit but are still searching for the remaining offenders. Not only does the actual offence infuriate me but the fact that at least 2 of the offenders are under the age of 18 and therefore protected by the YCJA (Youth Criminal Justice Act) (see http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/ycja/ for some info) infuriates me as well. The article mentions that prosecutors are going to ask that the arrested 17 year old be tried as an adult b/c his birthday is only days away; however, in my opinon they should not have to ask. I think the YCJA is far too lenient in the crimes that automatically move a young offender into adult court. Assualt with a deadly weapon is not one of the crimes listed as severe enough to warrent automatic change which means that until the court approves the change this 17 year old is protected. Let's not even start on the 16 year old who partook in this assault or I may be typing forever.

This article brings up an issue that aggravates me to no end. I understand the need to have a separate court system for youth offenders but at what point should youths no longer be treated as such? Heinous crimes are becoming more common among the youth, or at least are being reported to the public more often than in the past, and it is getting to a point where it is hard to judge why a crime was committed. Are these youths not knowledgeable about right and wrong? Have they not been taught that stabbing someone is not only morally wrong but legally wrong as well? Sure we could debate the many psychological aspects - e.g. how the youth mind differs from that of an adult, or how youths are still able to learn from their mistakes so lighter sentences that focus on correcting the behaviour more than punishing it (and hey, I am a psych graduate so feel free, I am always up for this type of discussion) but my point is not that there shouldn't be a separate court systems for youths but that we need make the system more of a deterrent. Our punishments for youth must become more strict and the list of crimes that are automatically sent to adult court needs to become more lenghty. Violent crimes against another person, not just those of a sexual nature or a homicaidal nature need to be included. The best way to prevent crimes like this is to deter individuals from doing them. At the present time our protection of violent youth offenders is doing nothing but perpetuating the problem.

1:32 PM | Blog it | News and politics

Comments (7)

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	____you-stink____ wrote: DAMN RIGHTS! Us young'uns deserve a good pounding when the circumstances are apropriate, especially like stuff such as beating up elderly people and stealing their cars. Adults, too, should maybe be a little more harshly dealt with. People get away with way too much. Jan. 6
	Dark-Slider1 wrote: I'm 15, and so im protected under the Young offenders act, and just let me say it is the dumbest law I've ever heard and i dont even know anyone who disagrees with me(that i asked). Last year in my school (would be, it was before i arrived) someone came to school and stabbed someone. Why? well, he was a bully, and the person stood up to him, so the next day he stabbed him. I don't know if he even served jail time, from what i heard he's just not allowed within 100 feet of the school. What they should do as far as im concerned is make it say that once your 13 your tried as an adult (depending on the case, drugs for example, you wont be tried as an adult, but make the punishment harder) Afterall, my 4 YEAR OLD COUSIN knows that killing is wrong, in fact, i believe it was when he was 2, we were talking about a murder case and he said "that is a very mean man" so if he know than why should a 15 year old be expected not to know? Jan. 6
	never_cry_wolfe_virginia wrote: "the U.S. Surgeon General has repeatedly found that placing a youth in an adult court actually leads to higher rates of reoffense..." Just a quick question regarding this - is it that there are higher rates of reoffense or is it that since tried in adult court the records are not sealed? As for the title I was going somewhere else w/ this piece, changed my mind and then didn't change the title (for everyone who is interested I am constantly trying to post w/o titles but cannot do so). And yes I did grow up in the city, I am only 23 so remember very well what it was like to be a teenager and I personally was fully aware of what reality was like and that all actions have consequences. Jan. 5
	gonecraxzy wrote: I agree. why "shame on youth" ? did you grow up in the city? well the fact that this event is isolated there is crime every where by many diffrent age groups. Do you remember when you where a teenager? Atleast most of my friends didn't know what reality was like. They where still living under the safty net of their parents and don't realize the consiquense of their actions. I don't agree that they should have done that but i think what the gov. is doing is right. Jan. 5
	RyanWoolfrey wrote: One more thing... why did you decide to title your post "Shame on the Youth"? It almost sounds as if you're talking about youth in general... incidents like this (and they are indeed horrible) are (thankfully) isolated cases, and the last thing we need is another negative portrayal of youth culture; why isn't it "Shame on the Adults", who commit FAR more crimes than youth? Jan. 4
	RyanWoolfrey wrote: Do you really believe that violent crime is becoming more prominent? Or is it just, like you said, an increase in coverage? Violent crime among youth has actually dropped since 1993. The YCJA is far from flawless, but the principles behind it are relatively sound; the U.S. Surgeon General has repeatedly found that placing a youth in an adult court actually leads to higher rates of reoffense, as well as increases their chances of being victimized(http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/chapter1/sec2.html#myths). Who knows what was going on with these offenders? So many issues are undoubtedly intertwined with this case that it's impossible to talk about without being close to the situation itself. Jan. 4
	1nf1n1ty99 wrote: Great site so far hun I will be sure to comment again. If you have a moment check out my space you can listen to music and download it. Jan. 4

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