• rumschlumpel@feddit.org
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        3 months ago

        At 13, they are both basically and literally teenagers, which comes with the legal consequence of being liable for criminal actions.

        • MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown@fedia.io
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          3 months ago

          I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure “teenager” is not a legal distinction for which liability is determined. You are either an adult or not, and judges have leeway to funnel non-adults through an alternative justice system not available to adults.

        • andrewta@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          I’ve never heard of that legal distinction, but I want you to go talk to any parent of a 13 year old and ask how they refer to a 13 year old and the vast majority will call those people a child and also call them a teenager. A ton of teachers will do the same thing.

          At age 19 you are still a teenager but in the eyes of the law many times you are considered an adult.

          So it is fair to call a 13 year old a child because basically they still are.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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      3 months ago

      I have a 14-year-old.

      They’re children.

      And if my daughter did something like this last year, I would absolutely want her to face legal repercussions. I love her, but that doesn’t mean I would find this to be in any way acceptable behavior, and at a level beyond what I as a parent could do.

      I would, however, do my best to make sure she was put in a juvenile facility and given good mental healthcare.