A 6-year-old child who was accused of causing damage to real property after removing a tulip from the lawn at a bus stop in North Carolina, the United States, recently appeared in court.
According to the Winston-Salem Journal on March 14, many believe that even though the boy may not fully comprehend the scenario, it could negatively impact his life.
Should a young child be making important decisions if they believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy?
Jay Corpening, the chief district court judge for New Hanover County, was reported as stating. Research, according to the judge, shows that even 10- to 14-year-olds cannot.
According to the article, Corpening is the chair of a state committee established by the General Assembly to look into this matter.
When the boy appeared in juvenile court, his attention span was too short for the proceedings, and the child’s attorney, Atty. Julie Boyer, revealed that she had to offer him a colouring book and some crayons.
Bridges’ Damning Report on Other Cases Like This
In addition, Bridges’ devastating assessment states that between 2015 and 2018, approximately 7,300 complaints involving kids aged 6 to 11 were made.
In spite of the fact that only 22% of residents in the state are Black and 70% are White, 47 percent of those complaints were against Black children.
Fortunately, a lot of social justice groups and other organizations—the National Juvenile Justice Network foremost among them—are fervently advocating for the age for juvenile proceedings to be raised.
Such a proceeding, which required a 6-year-old kid to appear before a judge, is one such example.
The National Juvenile Justice Network requested that all states adopt what they described as “a realistic minimum age” (i.e., no lower than 14) for prosecuting juveniles back in January.
Conclusion
In North Carolina, a 6-year-old kid was detained and hauled to court after it was claimed that he had swiped a tulip from a yard near his bus stop.
Due to his young age, the boy was unable to follow up with the court’s proceedings when he recently went before a judge in juvenile court to answer to a charge of injury to real property.
According to the Winston-Salem Journal. Instead, to keep him occupied, his attorney gave him a colouring book and crayons.
