Young Murders and Juvenile Justice in Canada Essay (Article)

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Updated: Mar 10th, 2024

Introduction

This paper is in the form of brief summaries of two CBC reports which appeared in 2008. Two boys were reported to have been involved in two separate murder cases and they were charged with murder. At the end of the summaries is given a short personal opinion about youth justice, which is surely shaped by the horrifying events given in the reports. The two murders speak volumes about the state of human life in this modern world. Life seems to be slowly drifting to savagery.

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Discussion

“Youth charged in Behchoko video store death appears in court” is about a boy from Behchoko, N. W. T, who was charged in the death of a man at a video store. He makes his first appearance in Yellowknife courtroom. The case is put for Monday as his lawyer and the Crown need time to review the evidence. His charges are second-degree murder and manslaughter. They are related to the death of a man named Johnny Dryneck, aged 38. The man was found unconscious inside a video store named “Our Video variety store”. According to the report, he was found unconscious at 11 pm on Thursday, and he died on early Friday at Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife. The Crown prosecutor, Shannon Smallwood, says that the Crown has to consider whether the court proceedings should be based on second-degree murder or manslaughter. He explains that the “Second-degree murder is essentially where somebody intends to kill somebody or actions that are reasonably foreseeable that they will cause somebody’s death. Manslaughter causes anything from an accident up to near-murder”. Breach of probation is another charge being faced by the youth. Though R C M P has not provided any further news about the murder, the people living around the scene told CBC that Dryneck and the youth were seen arguing in the video store. They give conflicting evidence. According to one version, Dryneck was stabbed. There are a few who claim to have seen the victim being shoved into a shelf. An autopsy on Dryneck would take place on Monday in Edmonton.

“Youth charged with murder in cycle-by shooting” is about a seventeen-year-old youth from Edmonton. He is charged with a first-degree murder and the man named Brandon Dierich, aged 23, was found shot to death in a parked car. The incident took place on Tuesday and the boy was charged on Thursday. The man died of multiple gunshot wounds in a residential area at 93rd street and 68th avenue, near the Mill Greek Ravine. The crime is believed to be drug-related. The shooter was on a bike and he was seen riding toward ravine’s thick bush. He came back with a paper bag with “something inside”. The boy was arrested at a mall on Thursday. The report says that he cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. According to Norma Hartley, she saw a youth on a bike leaning against a tree, while she was coming home with groceries on Tuesday, and a few minutes later she heard the gunshots. With her teacher instincts she narrates that “he just didn’t look like he should be hanging around”. He was just looking like a kid, the “baby face was gone but he didn’t have that adult look to him”. The only comment from the victim’s family, which appeared online, is made by his grandfather. He feels sorry to have lost Brandon so early. A bottle of liquor, flowers and a stuffed toy was seen at the place of crime. They were probably left by the friends. Karen Carlson, the police spokeswoman, admits that seventeen year-olds have been charged with homicides in Edmonton in recent months. Beatings, stabbings or fights at parties have become common, she says. The surprise at this incident is that for the first time a firearm is used.

Conclusion

The two murder reports summarized above have many things in common and they reveal the way life is moving in this modern sophisticated society. The focus seems to be on the legal procedures to be followed after the crime is committed, and not on removing the causes of crime. The two quoted murders reflect the restlessness of youth. Several reasons could be attributed to this trend, which is beyond the scope of this paper. Murderers with baby faces surely indicate the breakdown of vital institutions like family. Therefore, youth justice must begin at home and not in courts. There also seems to be a gradual deterioration in the pattern in which the youth responds. According to the police spokeswoman, the crime moves from physical fighting to the use of firearms. It shows that at the conscious level, the attitude to crime is undergoing changes. It can lead only to a savage state. Hence, an immediate awareness in society about the nature of youth justice is imperative.

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IvyPanda. (2024, March 10). Young Murders and Juvenile Justice in Canada. https://ivypanda.com/essays/young-murders-and-juvenile-justice-in-canada/

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"Young Murders and Juvenile Justice in Canada." IvyPanda, 10 Mar. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/young-murders-and-juvenile-justice-in-canada/.

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IvyPanda. (2024) 'Young Murders and Juvenile Justice in Canada'. 10 March.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Young Murders and Juvenile Justice in Canada." March 10, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/young-murders-and-juvenile-justice-in-canada/.

1. IvyPanda. "Young Murders and Juvenile Justice in Canada." March 10, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/young-murders-and-juvenile-justice-in-canada/.


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IvyPanda. "Young Murders and Juvenile Justice in Canada." March 10, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/young-murders-and-juvenile-justice-in-canada/.

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