The New Year eve’s killing of retired nurse
Hyacinth Hayden had indeed shocked the community of Green Park, Trelawny. When
we examine the circumstances of which the crime was committed, it is shocking
to realize that Mr. Hayden had just went to a shop in the community and came
back to see the body of his wife on the floor with stab wounds. I cannot say
that I understand his feelings, but I wish to encourage him and hope that he
finds hope and comfort in God.
The thing that was revealing was that the crime was allegedly done by two 16-year-old boys, one of which the nurse had given a phone. I surmised that in her mind, she saw it has an opportunity to help a person who is less fortunate but had no idea that the same person who she had helped would have plot to rob her and eventually taken her life. Some would say it is a situation of “sorry fi mawga dawg, dem tun round bite yuh”. But I seriously believe that parents should be held more accountable for the devious acts of their children.
I would like to also make reference to two
articles published in observer between yesterday and today. Firstly an article
published yesterday titled “Police find teens committing robberies on orders
from home” reveals that “The police say they have made a disturbing discovery
in their investigation of an upsurge in robberies taking place on the streets
of downtown Kingston. The crimes are being committed by teenagers under the
command of their parents.” Secondly, an article published today titled “Boy,
12, stabbed to death in class” stated that “There was mourning yesterday at the
Barrett Town All-Age School, as well as in the wider community, after a grade
six student was fatally stabbed by his classmate shortly after break in the
morning.” By examining these events one would be saddened, and further would
not like to see a repeat of these incidents. And how long will this continue in Jamaica?
Crimes committed by juveniles are nothing
new to us, and I am fully aware of the constraints which currently exists by
which people will quickly refer to as contributing factors as to why teenagers
engage in criminal activities. Some of these factors are but not limited to
poverty, unemployment and socialization. But I concede that those factors are
no excuse for indiscipline. One of the major factors is lack of parenting and
breakdown in family structure, moral and values. When you see parents carrying
machete to confront a teacher, how do we expect children to behave?
Therefore, I believe that parents should be
persecuted for serious crimes of their children. Before you chastise me, hear
what I have to say. I would propose a model, of which such persecution will occur.
The purpose of this is because I want parents to be more responsible and if it
takes force to do so then so be it. Some parents are too careless, and there
needs to be some policy in place to address this. So what is my model? I would
limit serious crimes to murders, assault, rape and attempted murders. Each
crime will have diverse degrees of persecution. If a child is guilty of any of
the aforementioned crimes, then parents should be required to pay up $200,000
or 3 years community service. No parents will be excluded. The years may
increase due the degree of crime. During that time, the child will be taken
away from the parent and be placed in a special facility, where he/she will be
desensitized military style. During this rehabilitation period the child will
be educated and required to learn a skill before being released to society.
In Oregon, California, parents are
convicted for crimes committed by their children. Though from time to time
parents have challenged these laws but remained unsuccessful because law makers
have identified the need for these laws. In most jurisdictions with parental
responsibility laws, a violation of the law is a misdemeanor and a person
charged with the crime faces up to one year in prison, a fine in the range of
$1,000, or both. In addition to a prison sentence and fine, many states also
require convicted parents to enter educational programs. California and other
states have included mandatory parenting skills training among the sanctions a
court may impose on parents whose children have broken the law. State courts
have upheld these laws. (Williams v. Garcetti, 853 P.2d 507 (1993).) In fact,
some states have enacted parental responsibility laws as vehicles to order
parents into skills training, rather than to jail them for their children’s
conduct.
While there may be flaws with my model, I
hope this will ignite serious discussions. As such, let the debate begin!
