Lawyer Feng Yueping of Beijing Shi Jing Law Firm has always been concerned about juvenile delinquency. He believes that protecting minors does not mean conniving at juvenile delinquency. China's criminal law pursues two basic goals: punishment and education. For minors, we must give priority to education, probation and salvation, but for serious crimes, certain punishment means are also necessary. Therefore, the relevant provisions regulating juvenile delinquency should be updated and adjusted according to the current social situation, including the age of crime, the severity of circumstances, subjective malignancy and so on.
According to the definition and provisions of the minimum age of criminal responsibility for juvenile delinquency in China, people who have reached the age of 16 should bear criminal responsibility for committing crimes. A person who has reached the age of 14 but is under the age of 16 commits the crime of intentional homicide, intentional injury, serious injury or death, rape, robbery, drug trafficking, arson, explosion or throwing dangerous substances, and shall bear criminal responsibility. If a person who has reached the age of 14 and is under the age of 18 commits a crime, he shall be given a lighter or mitigated punishment. If a person is not given criminal punishment because he is under the age of sixteen, his parents or guardians shall be ordered to discipline him; When necessary, it can also be taken in for reeducation by the government.
It can be seen that at present, the age of 14 is set as the minimum age of criminal responsibility in China's laws, and minors under 14 do not need to bear any criminal responsibility. However, the case of Dalian 13-year-old boy killing 10-year-old girl is still fresh in my memory and affects the hearts of netizens. However, according to the current law, even if a boy of 13 years old takes a girl's life, he does not have to bear the responsibility, which is unacceptable to the victims' families and people in society. Lowering the age of criminal responsibility is naturally a better way to deal with such cases, but it cannot be a good medicine to solve and reduce the juvenile crime rate once and for all. Even if it is reduced to 13 years old, there may still be 12 years old or even younger criminal minors. This kind of news is not without it.
Therefore, lawyer Feng Yueping believes that it is really necessary to lower the age of criminal responsibility, but it is more meaningful to "maliciously make up the age", that is, if it can be proved that minors above 10 and below 14 know that they are still committing infringement, they still have to bear corresponding criminal responsibility. However, for this system, the burden of proof is heavier, and the investigation and public prosecution organs must be required to prove the malice of the minors involved. Only by fully proving that their actions are malicious can they be punished by law, otherwise they may be abused. "Malicious age compensation" can not only punish minors who commit crimes, but also meet the fairness and justice of conviction and sentencing to the maximum extent.