Thursday, July 26, 2007

Second Chance to Live

4 slash wounds and 20 stab wounds.

A girl's life was abruptly and brutally ended after 11 years of living, committed by a boy who was only one year older than her.

As a result of his action, the boy paid 4 years of his adolescence behind bars at the pleasure of the King. 4 years later, the court reaffirmed the conviction that he was found guilty of the murder but freed him. Reason? There was no law that prescribes a sentence for a child convicted of murder.

Found guilty but freed?

The Bar Council of Malaysia describes the verdict as a failure of the criminal justice system.

The mother of the daughter is stunned and must be suffering from another severe emotional setback. The thought of the boy paying 4 years of imprisonment in exchange of her daughter's life is simply unbearable.

As for the rest of Malaysia, many must be feeling furious over the inability of the system and sympathizing over the family of the girl.

What about the boy? Having spent the best of his formative years behind bars, he will be suffering from the repercussions of the imprisonment for the rest of his life. More importantly, he will be haunted by his guilt and will experience rejection by the society. This is a more torturous punishment than capital punishment, which would have been his fate if not for Child Act 2001.

Undeniably, we see injustice from the perspective of the family of the victim. Yet perhaps, from the perspective of the family of the boy, we see the remorseful boy experiencing grace, given a second chance to live.

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3 Comments:

Blogger gray said...

if the 10 Commandments were interpreted in its strictest sense,we're all to die. So if we receive grace, don't the young boy deserve a chance too.

2:23 am  
Blogger Dan said...

Hey Gary. Second chance indeed. I was thinking about Jesus granting another chance to the adulteress as I was writing this post.
However, looking at the bigger picture, it is not as simple as it seems. When I wrote, it was in retrospect. Considering that SINCE the boy is released, what positiveness can we see out of it. But I do not think it is a good idea to leave Child Act 2001 unamended, for people can exploit the loopholes. Yes, we want to offer grace, but justice is equally important as well. Sticky.

2:29 pm  
Blogger Dan said...

Read here.

3:04 pm  

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