Cena's case. The reduction of the age of criminal responsibility, criticized by the PNL. A child's serious crimes, “a failure of the adults around him”

PNL deputy Raluca Turcan declared on Tuesday that when a child ends up committing a serious crime, it is about “a failure of the adults around them”, claiming that “lowering the age of criminal responsibility does not make the child responsible, but stigmatizes him” and “throws him into a system built for adults, not for children, and cuts off his real chances of recovery”, informs Agerpres.

“When a child ends up committing a serious crime, we are not talking about a 'little criminal', but about a failure of the adults around him. A child is not formed by himself. He is shaped by the family, the school and the environment in which he grows up. The family is the first place where a child learns what is good and what is bad, where he should receive safety, limits and affection. The school should notice the first warning signs, educate, support and intervenes. When these systems fail, the child ends up shouting what no one wanted or knew to hear,” wrote Turcan on Facebook.

“If we want children recovered, not destroyed”

She added that the Police has an essential role in combating drug trafficking and consumption, a phenomenon that reaches children's lives earlier and earlier. “When drugs circulate freely around schools and in communities, and prevention and intervention are missing, vulnerable children become easy targets. To punish later does not mean justice, but institutional hypocrisy”, believes Turcan.

Raluca Turcan also mentioned that a child labeled early as a “criminal” reduces his chances of recovery, as there is a high risk that he will later commit other crimes.

“Lowering the age of criminal responsibility does not fix these failures. It does not make the child responsible, it stigmatizes him. It throws him into a system built for adults, not children, and cuts off his real chances of recovery. A child labeled early as a 'criminal' is more likely to become just that. The responsibility lies with the family, the school, state institutions and society as a whole. If we want children recovered, not destroyed, the solution is not punishment early, but real prevention, early intervention and assuming our role as adults”, wrote Turcan.

Analysis at the Ministry of Justice

The Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, announced, on Monday, the establishment of a working group to analyze the opportunity to change the conditions of criminal liability of minors.

“The crime committed by the minors in Timiș shocked us all. We ordered the establishment of a working group within the Ministry of Justice to analyze the opportunity to change the conditions of criminal liability of minors, including under the minimum age provided by law. The working group will send invitations for cooperation to several judicial, medical institutions and organizations, associations of professionals and other components of civil society. We aim to find professional and appropriate answers through debate as much as possible as quickly as possible,” Marinescu wrote on his Facebook page.

According to the minister, the law must take into account not only the criminal sanction component, but also the prevention and education component.

Two young people were pre-arrested last Friday, after, together with a 13-year-old minor, who is not criminally responsible, they killed, set fire to and buried a 15-year-old boy. They are accused by prosecutors of qualified murder, respectively desecration of corpses. The crime, which took place in the context of a predetermined plan, made a month ago, took place in the evening of January 19 in the town of Cena in Timiş county. The boy died after being hit repeatedly with an ax and a knife. Later, the three desecrated the victim's body, setting it on fire, and buried it behind the garden.