Flynnie, thank you again for linking that piece. It is an extremely difficult read, but I've learned a lot from having read it. It is a godawful story and words can't express how it makes me feel. I do very much hope that the victim has finally found peace.
The technical questions I raised seem almost indecent in the fuller context, but in case others are curious, there is clearly a significant difference between what we would call the "juvenile justice system" here and what the Republic has. When juveniles are tried as adults here, they are subject to the same procedures and potential punishments as adults. The Irish have a hybrid procedure that provides for trials in the most serious criminal courts, but provides child defendants with a series of procedural safeguards, while allowing significant discretion (including in sentencing) to the trial judge that s/he doesn't have in an adult trial.
Now that I understand the framework and am infinitely more aware of the details of the case, I agree with the prosecutors' decision to charge the defendants with murder and the way in which the trial was conducted. I only wish that the crime had never occurred.
The technical questions I raised seem almost indecent in the fuller context, but in case others are curious, there is clearly a significant difference between what we would call the "juvenile justice system" here and what the Republic has. When juveniles are tried as adults here, they are subject to the same procedures and potential punishments as adults. The Irish have a hybrid procedure that provides for trials in the most serious criminal courts, but provides child defendants with a series of procedural safeguards, while allowing significant discretion (including in sentencing) to the trial judge that s/he doesn't have in an adult trial.
Now that I understand the framework and am infinitely more aware of the details of the case, I agree with the prosecutors' decision to charge the defendants with murder and the way in which the trial was conducted. I only wish that the crime had never occurred.
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