Benue State University, Makurdi

Sentencing Youthful Criminals: The Need to Juxtapose Penalty with Techniques of Character Modification

Nwabueze Lilian Ifeoma*

Abstract

Crimes are classified as misdemeamour felony. In practice, they are also labeled as heinous or non-heinous offences. In either the former or latter description, different penalties are provided in the code to reflect the seriousness or non-seriousness of the offense committed by an individual who has been properly convicted by a Court of law. The punishment which is carried out in the sentence passed by the Court has objectives which seems targeted at crime reduction in the society. Despite the presumed objectives of each sentence order made by the Court, crime rate among youthful criminals seems to be in the increase. Young persons convicted for criminal offences in rural areas show no less difference from the above. This article adopts doctrinal research method in the analysis of punishment for offences particularly against youthful criminals and found that offence centered sentence may have less impact than when same is considered alongside with the nature of the individual who committed the offence. It recommends an amendment in the law or the use of practice directives which will address the nature of youthful criminals and their level of exposure to complement the punishment directed at offences. The article has reaffirmed the need for sentence orders to be complimented where necessary with character modification techniques for better actualization of the goals of sentence.

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