After reading a handful of books involving teenaged Canadian murderers (“Killing Time” by Wade Hemsworth and “Such a Good Boy” byLisa Hobbs Birnie, as well as the American “Bully”), I’ve started to look into Canada’s Young Offenders Act. In many incidents, juveniles joked about getting the maximum sentence (3 years in juvi), or used their approaching 18th birthday as an excuse to commit a thrill kill. I was wondering what everyone’s thoughts were on the YOA. Is it too lenient, or, in some instances, too harsh? Does knowledge of it’s leniency by young offenders play a direct role in juvenile crime? Should older teenagers have their own rules (as opposed to making the jump from 3 years in juvi to 25 years in adult prison for the same crime)? (incidentally, every teenager involved in the books I read was tried as an adult)
GQ is for questions with factual answers. This is more of a GD sort of thing, so I’ll move this thread over there.