Oct 31 2007
The Age of Consent
WoDM and I had a big discussion about the age of consent last night, one which I continued in my head this morning. The conclusion I came to was this - the earliest age the courts decide to try a juvenile as an adult should be the age of consent.
Legally, the decision to try a child as an adult is one based not strictly on the severity of the crime committed (although many people will argue that it should be). It’s a decision based on the intent behind the crime.
A younger child who has a very concrete concept of right vs wrong, psychologically, will be unable to understand the wide-ranging effects of his or her crime on a level greater than his or herself. A child in that state may be dangerous, and if so, should be kept from society - but is still a child and has not committed a crime in the manner of an adult.
We allow adults legal leniency based on mental illness, psychological disability, drunkeness or passion because these things can prevent an adult from being able to exercize his/her moral judgment. A young child is entitled to the same leniency based on the same logic - since their moral judgment is not yet fully developed, they cannot be “punished” the same way as an adult. [I should point out here, I disagree with the view that the state has a right to “punish” someone for a crime. I believe the state has only a responsibility to protect its citizens from someone who will infringe on their rights)
Psychologically, our brain progresses at around the age of 10 or so to be able to think abstractly. This is also the age where we become less self-absorbed, more able to process our place in the world and more attuned to what our peers think of us. In this stage, I believe a prosecutor can make a compelling argument to try a juvenile as an adult.
In the states, the youngest child to be tried as an adult was 12 (from a very cursory look at google - Nathaniel Abraham). While his specific case (psychologists say he functioned at the level of a six year old) is a good example of why trying juveniles as adults is a tricky practice, our age of consent laws should reflect when we believe children can make adult decisions, for example, the decision to take another’s life.
Many juveniles won’t be able to make those decisions, and many will choose to delay making those decisions. This should be their right. But the truth is, if we (as a nation) trust a twelve year old to be accountable to the state for killing someone, we should trust them to be accountable to themselves, their parents, their partner, and their God(s) regarding their sexual activity.
K.
The contents of this blog entry may not reflect the views of the Webmaster of Doom, Michael.