QUESTION
Recently a 14-year-old youth was given a sentence of community service for the arson that cost people their homes. Her lawyers said it would be part of her rehabilitation; home owners wanted her to go to jail. What do you think is a fair punishment?
ANSWER
It should be both. I don’t believe in punishment that is not intended to rehabilitate. Besides community service she needs help to return to society in a functioning and contributing manner. That will take time and that is why she should be in a locked-down facility. The restorative justice process is:
- (a) First she must take full responsibility of her actions – this may take time and therapy
- (b) She must ask forgiveness of the people she harmed (not important if that forgiveness is granted or not – but she must ask for it)
- (c) She must commit to forever change her behavior, and her community service should be to prevent other arsonists from doing this behavior or help convicted arsonists to do the same restorative steps she is doing.
Once she has helped turn around some other arsonists or prevented them from becoming arsonists, it may earn forgiveness of her victims and also help her to forgive herself. She is young and has many more years to live. She can help prevent many other teens from committing the same crime. This way she will be a resource to society rather than a drain.
Posted in Question of the Month
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