In the case of the murdered Luise (12) from Freudenberg, two girls, themselves still minors, are suspected of murder. Now the debate about criminal responsibility is heating up again. Already after a gang rape in 2019, some politicians had called for the lowering of the criminal responsibility.
The brutal act shocked the country: a total of five boys are said to have raped and beat a young woman in Mülheim an der Ruhr. In 2020, three of the perpetrators were sentenced to youth prison terms for communal rape. You were 14 years old at the time of the crime. Two other boys involved did not have to appear in court because they were only 12 years old at the time.
Given the seriousness of the crime, can impunity be right? The question was also discussed intensively after the Mülheim crime. The head of the German Police Union, Rainer Wendt, had always taken the view that lowering the age of criminal responsibility was necessary. Serious crimes like the one in Mülheim are the best evidence.
On the other hand, for example, there is the chairman of the German Child Protection Association, Heinz Hilgers, who not only points out that “children don’t belong in jail”, but also that the number of serious crimes by very young offenders has been falling for years. An experience shared by youth judge Andreas Müller. He also makes it clear in the stern-DISKUTHEK that harsher penalties and the punishment of ever younger offenders would not prevent a crime. In addition, it is not the case that 12 and 14-year-olds are lurking “on every corner” to attack people. Serious crimes by very young offenders are still terrible exceptional cases.
People meet in the stern-DISKUTHEK to discuss current political and social issues. If you want, you can join the discussion on YouTube.
