Boy jailed after repeated opportunities for reform are ignored
A boy who was convicted of several crimes since he was 13 years old, has been jailed after a magistrate found that he had ignored various opportunities to reform and he still thought he could do whatever he liked.
The boy pleaded guilty to stealing several items from a house in Senglea on January 12, 2009 with a total value not exceeding €2,329.37.
He was also found to have violated the conditions of five previous court sentences.
In is considerations, the court, presided by Magistrate Doreen Clarke, found that the boy was 16 when he committed his latest crime. He had previously been found guilty of possession of drugs, violent theft, holding a person against her will, illegal possession of a knife, driving without a licence, assaulting and injuring a policeman, and assault on a prison warden. Some of the crimes were committed when he was 13 years old.
The Magistrate said the courts had made various attempts to help the boy and give him opportunities to reform. He was given warnings, conditional discharge, probation, suspended sentences and even a short period of detention. He was also ordered to serve community service.
In this latest case, the boy admitted the charges on February 16, 2009, which was more than a year ago. The court had not handed down sentence immediately to hear submissions on punishment and to give the boy yet another chance to show that he was willing to reform.
Unfortunately, however, the boy had not done so.
"The boy has learnt absolutely nothing and he still thinks he can do whatever he likes and the authorities and the laws can be ignored," the court said.
This was shown not only through his actions in the past, but also over the past months since his admission. He knew that the court was giving him another chance to prove he wanted to change his ways. but he had not done so, despite his promises.
The court said it had noted defence submissions that the boy had a difficult upbringing. That was why he was assisted over the years. But the measures taken by the courts had had no positive results. He continued to show the same disrespect, not only at authority but also to the laws and regulations which he, despite being a minor, like any other person, had a duty to observe.
The court said it also appreciated that the boy recently made contact with Caritas so as to again start a drug rehabilitation programme It was not his fault that his assessment was not carried out.
But the court could also not ignore the fact that while he was trying to be admitted to the Caritas programme, he started taking heroin. Indeed, the boy's drug problem was rapidly getting more serious.
The court said the laws were there to be observed by all, adults and minors, and minors too had to account for their actions, although the laws provided for a reduction of their punishment, because of their age.
The court was limited in the actions it could take with regard to convicted minors since it too had to follow the law. In this case , the court had no choice but to impose a prison sentence for this case, while also making effective the previous prison sentences imposed on the boy since 2007.
Magistrate Clarke said the court remained of the view that the Corradino prisons were not the ideal place for minors to be held in detention, but there was no other way of detention, more suitable for children.
The boy was therefore jailed for a period of 23 months.
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Melvynm Mifsud LLD
May 6th 2010, 10:17
One must be knowledgeable of Court proceedings prior to judging Court decisions - both in general as well as the particular facts of the case. I have known of various Courts going through painstaking attempts whilst dealing with cases, where the most vulnerable are affected. Both in the role of victims or even as accused.
Even more so when they are underage.
Our adjudicators are human being who go about their function in a just but humane way. This I and many people who attend Court can vouch for.
In understtanding one's criminal actions, various studies have indicated varying contributing factors. But one has to try to decipher the element of one's nature ( birth/genetic) and nurture (upbringing).
On these lines one has to comprehend and view the awarding of punishment in the best interest of society.
Joe Xuereb
May 5th 2010, 22:22
It is very easy for us to decide someone is not likeable and we take it from there, ignoring the underlays. But what is likeable? Some of society's stalwarts would, at times, not be particularly likeable if we knew them at close range and that includes me. Yet we continue to 'respect' people. This lad is a nobody and sounds like he's had a rough deal all along. At 13 he was embroiled in crime. To many he was a vicious lion. In fact he was more likely a frightened, lonely lamb trying to assert himself. He took the wrong turning/s.
Joe Xuereb
May 5th 2010, 19:53
Prison will not benefit him. He'll either become ever worse or else get broken down so completely he would be of no use to himself or society. Unfortunately, this would be acceptable to many.
It sounds like this young man has never had anybody around him with a genuinely kind word. He sounds like he is living a fairly isolated existence with people around him treating him, and themselves, as a non-person at best. In this downward spiral he does not stand a chance.
He needs help. A boot camp (where the personnel who run it don't tolerate nonsense) might be an option. He could be helped to make something for himself thus enabling him to build self-respect. It wouldn't be easy as he doesn't sound very co-operative. He needs supervision and containment. On the streets he is a danger to others and himself. And I feel that for this wayward lad, prison is just an extension of the street.
Imposing an unrelenting punishment that might just reform him is like saying he was born bad. That is unfair.
Ray Buttigieg
May 5th 2010, 19:50
whilst its easy to comment and say the boy got what he deserves, the truth of the matter is that most probably this young lad is where he is today because we as a society have failed him. here is a young boy who at the age of 13 years got on the wrong side of the fence. What happened to him and why he got there seems to be of nobodies interest. where were his parents in such a critical age? where where his educators, the church, his relatives. The social institutions that are meant to have socialised this boy into a decent human being did not work this time round. WHY???? There has to be a story behind the story. This boy might be to young to talk but yes one day he will mature into an adult and examine his life and he can rightly and justly point a finger to the society that failed him. A lost boy indeed but do not write him off. He will one day teach us all a lesson
Anthony Grech
May 6th 2010, 09:43
Come on now. Not every child who does bad things is the fault of society. This really burns me, you are happy to blame everyone but the person who is the criminal. At what point do you think this person is responsible for their own actions. Stop trying to let this little criminal off the hook, he did the crimes after all. I would guess that had you been the victim of his criminal behaviour you might have a different opinion. After all, who wants this clown as a neighbour, or schoolmate or god forbid the boyfreind of ones daughter. Lock him up, offer him some sort of chance to educate himself, then watch him like a hawk.
marthese mussett
May 5th 2010, 12:18
Seems to me that he WANTED to go to prison,and he tried hard.Hope he reforms himself anyway.
sandro pace
May 5th 2010, 11:47
Well done to the justice system, although it is also at fault for not coming down hard earlier with severe punishments. Leniency for first time offenders is giving false impressions that they can get away with everything.
Some people are born with a tendency to theft and reluctance to work. Whether in or out, they
will always seek 'masters', to make easy money out of other's expense. So might as well lock them in, and for a long time. They are unreformable (do not blame the State or upbringing), and the only way they can resist temptation is by hard punishment deterrence.
Our penal and retributive justice does not seem much feared enough.
Do not mention UK. James Bulger's murderers have been out after just 8 years. Nice example for would be juvenile criminals, and a great respect for his parents indeed. Only punishment for a long time would have comforted them.
Kevin Zammit
May 5th 2010, 11:22
I knew a kid once my age actually and we attended same school and all. When very young already coming from a rough upbringing (less than 10) his father stabbed and killed his mother witnessed by this boy. From then on he grew up very violent, but us who knew him well were never afraid of him or anything, on the contrary he knew he could count on us. But nothing came of it, spent till he was in his late 20s coming in an out of jail, getting on harder and harder drugs until one day he was found dead from an overdose.
A complete waste of life, not entirely his fault but had plenty and plenty of chances to reform. Problem was he became a tough guy too weak to do the right thing and society needs t protect itself.
Moral is ... a balanced hand is needed and most of the time the Maltese courts do get it right.
Andrea Portelli
May 5th 2010, 11:18
jailed after violating 5 previous sentenes??
Jailed after violating the first sentence dammit!
Tanja Cilia
May 5th 2010, 10:53
So... we are given to understand that before the child could get into rehab, he took drugs. This means that there was a long enough waiting period between then two, for him to have succumbed, as indeed "it was not his fault that the assessment was not carried out". So this child fell between the cracks, and some of the crimes he committed were to fund his addiction and pay his supplier. So now we wash our hands of him and lock him up, where he joins the other million children in a gaol, somewhere in the world.
What is in a name?
University of Crime –
The same as Prison.
..............................................
One million children –
Lock the door and break the key;
That’s their destiny.
......................................................
My father beat me;
Mom made me a prostitute...
I pay for their crimes.
............................................
I’ve cried all my tears
I’m sick and there’s no doctor
Body and soul, jailed.
...............................
Kicked out of my home
Rifling through bins for my food;
How can you judge me?
mary Pace
May 5th 2010, 10:35
for all those who's agaisn't this LAD, going to prison, I have a question, '' Would still be agaisn't him going to prison, if he comes & burglar you ,or worse, hit your mother or father????
F Spiteri
May 5th 2010, 10:30
To M Ellul - i am not ashamed of my comment at all. These youngsters have no respect for anyone, not even themselves. I do not agree with what you wrote but did i comment and insult you because i do not agree with what you wrote ?? No i did not because this is a free country and we can all have our opinions !
C.ZARB
May 5th 2010, 10:29
I tend to be pretty strict in terms of law. In fact I believe that in many cases prison sentences should be longer and prison should be tougher. Stating that, I can't see the reasoning behind sending a boy to jail. He will get nothing out of it apart from hating society even more.
In my opinion these kids should be sent to boot camps where they are given discipline and ample support to rebuilt their lives. Boot camps should not only be restricted to kids but also to their parents who are often the root of the problem. Its also time to start giving social cases, jobs (at least at voluntary level) instead of just handling them cheques.
M. Galea
May 5th 2010, 10:24
Is this boy getting all the psychiatric treatment that he should?
John A. Gauci
May 5th 2010, 10:17
He should have been imprisoned after the third crimal he committed. Time showed us that with some persons 'forgiveness' or 'giving another chance' is an inspiration to committ another crime.
Gabriel Sammut
May 5th 2010, 09:48
I wish to make a comment that unfortunately the media always ignored in the whole issue of the abuse scandal that occurred in malta in st joseph home. I know the staff and the children being homed today and the care and love they receive is impeccable! although many of them pass from the situations that occurred to this boy the love they receive help them to know that a possibility for growth can happen. unfortunately for this child he didnt have the opportunity like the 18 in home to feel the love that the natural parents fail to give. this is just a side note that should be kept in front of our judgement about the situations in homes.
anthea doughty
May 5th 2010, 09:34
Showing the tolerance you did to this boy between the ages of 13 and now has reaped no benefit. As has already been commented, just see what this approach has done for Britain. I do not exaggerate when I say the youngsters have NO respect for teachers, police, parents or old people. They have been given all the rights and all the power and teachers, parents and authorities have to try and deal with youngsters that basically they are not allowed to penalise. I was not shocked when I read this story, I read similar every day in my local and national papers. The world has gone mad - I wanna get off.
D Curmi
May 5th 2010, 09:17
An aspirant criminal going to jail to be with the masters....... oh yes he will come out as a good guy thats for sure......
Joe Morana
May 5th 2010, 09:03
As long as the courts merely slap law breakers on the wrist, and tell those found guilty to "please do not do THAT again!", we're going to have scofflaws running around who believe they can get off lightly no matter how many times they appear in front of a magistrate. I agree that Corradino is no place for a minor, but perhaps a version of compulsory military boot camp (either with the AFM or the Police) will instil discipline and common sense in some who would otherwise be let loose into society with unenforced 'suspended sentences'.
Roderick Micallef
May 5th 2010, 07:46
There are the stories of all the issues that exist in our society today, the results of all the broken families, drugs and alcohol abuse. The age of those abusing heavy drugs like heroin is decreasing and some times by the age of 13 or 14 there is already dependency on the substance, this will fuel all other sorts of crimes including theft, black mail, drug dealing you name it.
It is true that the courts try to give opportunities for people in these situations to rehabilitate but unfortunately some choose not to (especially when they are still young) and their choice is usually linked to the age, however, by throwing this particular case at Corradino will probably only make things worst. It is also true that there aren't any other choices but something should be done to address this on going and growing issue.
Corradino is already reaching it's maximum capacity, however what I fear most is the fact that
when you have such a vulnerable person like this one spending 2 years with all the criminals of Malta then I can't see much positive results coming out of it, this is exactly a double edged sword!
Joseph Galea
May 5th 2010, 05:50
Very disappointing and SAD country. Its VERY UNFAIR for ALL the Maltese that this person was given countless opportunities. Because of these so called opportunities he was left to hury others "violent theft, holding a person against her will, illegal possession of a knife, driving without a licence, assaulting and injuring a policeman, and assault on a prison warden"
About time that something have been done at last! go tell it to all those that suffered becuase of him....
N.Lawrence
May 5th 2010, 05:17
Difficult upbringing? Yeah, blame someone else. You make your own life decisions. Now enjoy it for the next couple of years. As an afterthought, I don't think time off for good behavior will work here, as good behavior is NOT in this persons make up.
m.ellul
May 5th 2010, 03:48
If this boy had not been able to reform, I see it as a failure of the system responsible to reform this boy in the first place. Instead of throwing this boy into jail (how convenient !!), the authorities should have made an exercise to rectify this failure .....and for heaven sake, we are talking about a person here and not a chess piece.
@ f.spiteri..you should be ashamed of your comment !
J Attard
May 5th 2010, 00:13
Well Done!!
John Ebejer
May 4th 2010, 23:47
At Seychell and Spiteri: And so, you both think that things are going to work out? Glad for the pound of flesh, are you? How short-sighted you are to think so .... the problem hasn't even started yet!
Michael neville Cassar
May 4th 2010, 23:45
About time too,what were you waiting for? Some will never change.
D. A . Agius
May 4th 2010, 23:20
Again, drugs seem to be a good portion of the problem here.
Need to work on the problem much more than we are, supplying drug users with much more support systems and making life difficult for drug trafficking. No mid-way measures, but hard action.
But also one must bear in mind to address the issue as to why turn on to drugs. This is the area which needs investment, not elephant sized projects which only serve few people. This is investment for the future, not for the actual.
Simon Vella
May 4th 2010, 23:18
The parents should be jailed and not a 13 year old... I'm very sorry... a boy like this had a bad background for sure...
J.Schembri
May 5th 2010, 11:53
He is not 13! He is an adult now.
stephen Mifsud
May 4th 2010, 23:14
Hard to judge but some people refuse to change. We should all work hard to build families on good core values like we used to do in the past before TV took place in our homes teaching new ways of living putting money first.
Joseph Mizzi
May 4th 2010, 22:53
The court's decision is understandable, but I have little hope that this young man will reform himself in prison. Sad situation indeed.
A Sammut
May 4th 2010, 22:09
WELL DONE !! He was given too many a chance to reform.... now he will have time to reflect on his attitude and MAYBE he will understand that it's about time to change it a bit. Otherwise it's JAIL forever. As he stands, he is a big danger to society.
Victor vella
May 4th 2010, 22:08
This unfortunately is the result of drugs, these cases would increasein time when children whose parents are addicts would follow thier parents into the habit.I beg the courts to help Malta by being harsh to the extent of ignoring human rights to those who are caught supplying drugs and more to those who are caught importing drugs.The death penalty is required .Let's face it if one kills a member of parlament or someone commits treason then he /she are liable to recieve the death penalty, isn't destroying tomorrow's citizens TREASON?
Anthony Borg
May 4th 2010, 21:57
One thing is certain and, in this case, the magistrate acted very responsibly: a civilized society needs to be protected from such scum, and there are already enough of them roaming freely. In life one has to make choices and these persons chose to remain on the wrong side of the law.
J. Spiteri
May 4th 2010, 21:43
These sort of delinquents should not be tolerated. Long term prison sentences should be handed out to serve as a deterrent to others. Countries that have not clamped down on this sort of behavior are now suffering the consequences, most notably the UK. Let us not allow ourselves to be dragged to a similar situation, which would be impossible to correct once it has taken roots.
D Scicluna
May 4th 2010, 21:42
Well, what we sow, we reap.
Joseph Borg
May 4th 2010, 21:35
So we have money to build a parliament but we dont have money to build a suitable place for young offenders to try and reform them. I think this looks a fine example of broken society and we should stop pointing our fingers at them and see what are we actually doing for them. When it comes to the UK, one should also look at the dissapearance of values and how families give everything to their children but they don't really know whats on their mind and whats happening in their life. Its easy to buy them everything , but buying presents is not enough to raise children.
c.Spiteri
May 4th 2010, 21:35
And the Educ Dep want to put such children in the Junior Lyceums / colleges!! A bad apple rottens a basket. Take heed still in time
Christian Sciberras
May 5th 2010, 11:39
What are you talking about?
They _are_ in these schools already.
oliver mallia
May 4th 2010, 21:14
good . Some times he will learn
Jesmond Micallef
May 4th 2010, 20:51
How very unfortunate !! I don't know what to think anymore when I read of such news here. The boy needs to get straight thats forsure.
malcolm seychell
May 4th 2010, 20:50
Well done. The UK was destroyed for showing tollerenace towards such young people
Patrick Sacco
May 4th 2010, 22:10
Well said Mr. Seychell. Pity that in Malta we tend to blindly copy what the UK does. I was always against giving too many rights to minors/students. Oh and by the way, the word 'duty' was never mentioned! You reap what you sow.
Philip Sultana
May 4th 2010, 22:16
"The UK was destroyed" ... what nonsense! Have you been to the UK lately? And does is look destroyed? If you call that destroyed, what should we say for the environmental and social disaster we call Malta?
Manuel Mangani
May 5th 2010, 00:29
Well done for sending a 16-year old to prison? I can't bl;ame the Magistrate, but we badly need a secure unit for young people (teenagers) which would offer a strict rehabilitation programme. Sending them to prison is no solution - unless one wants to make the situation worse.
Paul Mallia
May 5th 2010, 01:53
This young boy needs medical attention and not locked up for 23 months.
He finish his sentence and comes out worse unless he is given help when he is in jail.
F Spiteri
May 4th 2010, 20:23
Well done ! That is the only way he will learn
Mark Bishop
May 4th 2010, 20:52
I'm shocked
robert micallef
May 4th 2010, 22:07
as far as i know in the uk the parents are responsible for such kids and if not then they should be made responsible. for me it looks like a child without parents who has got into the drug habit which is very easy to get into.
i'm sure that his prison term will not solve the problems he has.
a lost child
Joseph A Borg
May 4th 2010, 22:46
I agree that he needs an extended cold shower but his destructive attitude points to serious character problems that will not change after 23 months in jail.
He needs a good psychiatric evaluation and monitoring. Maybe he had serious childhood trauma and can be redeemed with a concerted effort from the authorities…and a bit of lysergic acid…
Carmelo Azzopardi
May 5th 2010, 09:34
Yes to learn more to hate society and autorities. Prison is not a place of reform but just a place where one get smacked for his behaviour. About time to have a proper reform centre for minors and for adults maned by profesional guidance team.
J. Mizzi
May 5th 2010, 10:25
I Agree - Prison is too kind for this kid.
Vee Croucamp
May 5th 2010, 15:47
I don't think sending this kid to jail will help. What he needs is some phycological help.
He will come out having learnt all the latest tricks and criminal acitivities. I agree "BOOT CAMP".