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The Stand Up for Youth contest was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Human Rights Program of Canadian Heritage.

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Teenagers and Criminal Justice

Did the Punch Merit a Prison Sentence?

Criminal Justice for Teenagers

Hello, my name is Costas and I’m 16 years old. This morning I’m at the courthouse. I was tried and found guilty of “manslaughter”.

If I understood correctly, the judge is convinced I did something dangerous that killed somebody. I did hit Paul, but it was his fault. He provoked me. My girlfriend is my girlfriend. Paul should have stayed away from her. I don’t regret anything I did. He deserved it.

When I saw Paul fall down and stay down, I started to panic. He was bleeding. My girlfriend was in shock. She covered her mouth and didn’t say anything. The ambulance technicians saw right away that Paul was dead. But I only punched him once!

The police started asking me questions. I was handcuffed and taken to the police station. Everyone saw me hit him and a surveillance camera caught it on film. Now the Crown prosecutor (the one who filed the criminal charges against me) and the judge are wondering what to do with me.

I met with some psychologists who asked me a whole bunch of questions. They wanted to know why I did it. They say I acted out of revenge and that I can’t control my temper. But it’s the first time I’ve done something like that.

Remorse, remorse..... they wouldn’t stop talking about remorse. I don’t even know what that means, but it seems that I don’t have any.

They also say I’m immature. I don’t know why, but they are really stuck on the fact that I don’t know my father and my mother is a barmaid. I was proud to tell them that I work in a warehouse to make money. I’ve pretty much given up school. I was never really good at anything. Boxing is what interests me. I want to become a professional boxer.

The judge sentenced me to prison as an adult. This is what the Crown prosecutor requested. But teenagers usually get less harsh sentences than adults for the same crime. My lawyer and I want to appeal the decision so that the judge will sentence me as a teenager.

The Contest Question

Imagine that you are Costas’ lawyer. You want to appeal the judge’s decision. Appealing means challenging a decision to get it changed.

What arguments would you present to convince the judge that Costas should be sentenced as a teenager instead of as an adult?

Support your answer using the legal rules in both the “Legal Information” section below and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the “Convention”).

Happy writing!