Punishment for children who commit crimes?

[ay]

Peace all... For those of you who live in the UK you have probably heard all the media circus about John Venables being put back into custody...

It got me to thinking about what the Quran has to say about minors who commit serious crimes? He was only 10 years old at the time and was put into a young offenders prison until he turned 18...

I think children are children in the Quran and you are not accountable as a child (please correct me if i am wrong in my understanding)... however... with something this serious, would it still apply? Should the parents of JV be the ones to have been punished?

[darcus]

Salamun alaikum,

The boys were 10.  They committed an evil and vile crime, but the biggest problem we have is the media and their ability to rouse the mob mentality in all people.

The UK should have followed the Norwegian example - their age of criminal responsibility is 15 I believe.

The names and identities of the two boys should never have been released, and therapists should have been used very quickly to determine if they had any issues which had to be dealt with.  The poor Bulger boy being killed so brutally is indeed a sad thing, but still there are two more lives (who were only children) being ruined along with the hatred the masses feel.

Children are not accountable - they lack the experience (thankfully) and the reasoning.  The ill is not with the children, but the society in which they live, where we are constantly subjected to violence in our living rooms (tv and games).  I play Modern Warfare 2 and I must say that some of the people playing these games in multiplayer are probably no more than young adolescents.  Society has desensitised us.

Sorry for going on.

Peace
d

[RA786]

I think there are alot of variables and not ONE Clear Answer.

First Off...I think it depends on a "Case by Case Basis"....

also, here is a list of people I think are guilty for Child Crimes (no specific Order)

1.The Child- Reguardless of what others think, I knew the difference between "Good and Bad" at a young age. You know (or should know) what the difference is and what Consequences should arrise from your behavior reguardless of Age.
    Which then is connected to the other Guilty Party (perhaps More guilty.)

2. The Parents/Guardians. They are Gulty because they should have taught the child these rules and regulations making it perfectly clear what is good and bad and the consequences for their Action. I do believe that when a Child is UNDER 18 Years old..... It is the Parents Responcibility to Pay off any Debts that the child has caused.

Simialiarly to owning a Pet Dog. (however I dont mean to offend by making that type of analogy)...If your Dog ruines your neighbor's Garden...You the owner should pay to install a new Garden, or if the Dog bites him, you should pay for the Medical damages, and some sort of compensation.

So in this part the parants should have to Pay any Monetary Damages depending on the Amount of damage caused by their Children


3. Our Current Society.
I guess I would lastly blame society for crimes comitted. Violence especially Meaningless satanic and totally subliminal Occultic Violence is glorified on cartoons,movies,videogames, music, etc...for a specific purpose. I honestly think we are all to some degree responcible for this Societal Regression (myself included) for Allowing the ruling Minority to condition us with filth. Whether you would like to believe it or not...There is much Occultic and evil malicious material aimed at the Youth for specific reasons both at the Physical level and Spiritual level.
an entire Subliminal Conditioning Machine aimed at possession.


So If I was a parent I would focus more on EDUCATING my children on the dangers and consequences of these things rather then Hide it from them, or not caring and letting them become totally involved in these practices.


Conclusion, I believe in the current system as far as a Separation of Juvinile Jail (13-17) and Adult Jail (18+) however I think Children who comit crimes should be givin More leneancy and Mandatory Psychology/Therapy/Counciling that way he may learn from his mistakes and hopefully become a better productive member in society.


HOWEVER, just to Simply Let a Child off the Hook just because He is a Child...is incredibly WRONG in my eyes. Thats like Creating a Monster. Its like praising him for doing bad. They DO deserve a Punishment for their Actions...its the Only way they'll learn Cause/Effect and Consequences...Im just saying their Punishment shouldnt be as bad (i.e. Be more than the Crime that was comitted) =As the Quran says for all manking Right?


Peace/Salaam

[Wakas]

peace ay, all,

Note: AQ = al quran

I have not studied AQ with regard to this topic specifically, but from my studies so far, here is my view:

According to AQ, a person becomes fully responsible from adolescence onwards and when they have rushd*. This is when they can get married, can be given their inheritance etc, ergo, equal in all respects to an adult as far as I am aware.

*be well guided or directed, true direction, correct rule of action, straight forwardness, maturity of a child/intellect, capacity to manage one's affairs.


If the person does not fulfil this criteria, I don't see how they can be held responsible in the same way. It would perhaps then default to a community decision, which could range from: forgiveness/nothing, detainment / house arrest, compensation, or even once they fulfil the criteria they could opt to receive the punishment. If God exists, then there is no doubt that expiation in this life is much better than requital in the next one.

[Alen]

Peace all... For those of you who live in the UK you have probably heard all the media circus about John Venables being put back into custody...
It got me to thinking about what the Quran has to say about minors who commit serious crimes? He was only 10 years old at the time and was put into a young offenders prison until he turned 18...
I think children are children in the Quran and you are not accountable as a child (please correct me if i am wrong in my understanding)... however... with something this serious, would it still apply? Should the parents of JV be the ones to have been punished?

Peace,
Respectfully.

I think this child who commits such crimes that usually adults commit, should be first in the office with severl shrinks. I mean, seriously, a child suh as this is not to be blamed, he has such problems and is surrounded with violence, no wonder he followed it.

Don't get me wrong, i don't blame the child nor the parents but something happened in his brainwaves that i hink only shrinks and other doctors can deal with it, i think. God knows best.

Child should not be in any kind of prison but a smart person should talk to him regarding such a crime. Through talk, we would learn why this happened and we can prevent it in the future, God willing.

Peace.

[Abdun Nur]

Salaam,

a child is blameless, simply a product of there environment,  in reality the 2 year old, who was murdered by the two children, was truly murdered by the parents, community and media that shaped the environment that produced these monsters, if it is not possible to undo the damage manifest within these two children, and all efforts have been exhausted in this endeavor, then they should be killed to protect the people within the community from further hardship.

As for the parents of the two child murderers, they should be held fully accountable for the acts of their children, if it is proved they are directly responsible for the environment and instilling the values they have developed. Additionally the produces of the media that depicts the torture, murder, mutilation, depravity of humanity in graphic and sordid detail for entertainment value should be held accountable for their actions.