Thursday, March 18, 2010

Violent Young Offenders


Yesterday, we were babbling in this space about the Federal Government's considerations to let the public know the names and faces of violent young offenders, and the raising of such violent young offenders to adult court.

Today, the poster boy for this initiative appears.

The currently unnamed suspect (He was 17 darling years at the time of the offences - last year.) had been spending his free time drawing swastikas and the words "kill Jews" on mailboxes, synagogues and war memorials for Holocaust survivors.

For this he is being charged with mischief and "hate-related" charges.

Mischief.

I am a Jew.

I would like to know this sweet fellow's name.

I want to see his photo.

I want to know when to cross the street or grab a brick.

His "rights" are being protected by some perversion of bad thinking and legislation.

And my rights?

3 comments:

Gary L. said...

Your rights??????????? Who are you? Just a law abiding citizen, that has raised a family, handed over 40% of your Life's Energy to pay taxes, and worked to make your time here count, by improving the lives of the less fortunate.
And for THAT, you expect rights?
Sheesh!

Cheers
Gary L.

Anonymous said...

I don't know, David.
Yes, hate speech needs to prosecuted.
But a 17 year old should be able to learn from his mistakes, and not be stigmatized for his entire life.

(And who knows what would happen if his name was released? Lunatics and vigilantes abound in all cultures.)

Leah said...

If a possible young offender knows his/her name WILL be published for all to see..it may give him/her enough pause to think about what it was they were going to do. His/her family might also take a greater interest in what their progeny is up to.

Print 'em! This isn't going to affect the great kids we have many thousands of - it will affect those following the wrong path, and creating the most havoc and damage.

Who knows? It might even cause them to stumble long enough to take stock of where they're going wrong - and where they're likely to end up.