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Legal eagle says parents
cannot be blamed for violent students
The legal fraternity has dismissed suggestions by a Government Minister that parents of children who are involved in violent attacks should be held criminally responsible for their actions.
Education Minister Andrew Holness while addressing a Parent Teachers Association meeting at the Ferncourt High School Thursday called for the police to investigate the parents of the students who were involved in Wednesday's fatal stabbing.
A 17-year-old student of the school, Garron Jones, was stabbed to death by teenagers who reportedly disguised themselves as his school mates.
But Attorney Bert Samuels says under the law, parents cannot be held responsible for the actions of their children.
"No a parent can be held responsible for a child who stabs another. That parent is at home and the child is in school, it is too remotely connected to the parent. If you give your 13 or 14 year old son your motorcar to drive then you can be held for aiding and abetting his driving without a license but if my child goes to school and conceals a knife and stabs another there is no way I can be responsible," Mr. Samuels said.
Mr. Samuels also disagreed with the Education Minister's suggestion that the Court consider whether negligence on the part of the parents led to Wednesday's incident at Ferncourt.
"At school no parent can be attached in any way in terms of forseeability that the child would have done it. Even the question of searching the bag before the child left home. Even if it was proven that the child's parent did not search the bag to know if the child was carrying a knife; no you could not attach criminal responsibility because it is too remote," he said.
In the meantime, President of the National Parent Teacher Association, Miranda Sutherland is calling for parents to be more vigilant in monitoring the activities of their children.
Ms. Sutherland says parents who fail to do so should be held responsible.
"We continue to say to our parents that you have a responsibility to speak with your children, you have a responsibility to search their bags, you have a responsibility to even understand the kind of conversation that they are having on their cell phones,"
"You have a responsibility to know who the friends of your children are. Where we find parents who are negligent, who are not capable of paying attention to these fine details then it puts the rest of us in a very uncomfortable position," she said.
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/22559/26/
cannot be blamed for violent students
The legal fraternity has dismissed suggestions by a Government Minister that parents of children who are involved in violent attacks should be held criminally responsible for their actions.
Education Minister Andrew Holness while addressing a Parent Teachers Association meeting at the Ferncourt High School Thursday called for the police to investigate the parents of the students who were involved in Wednesday's fatal stabbing.
A 17-year-old student of the school, Garron Jones, was stabbed to death by teenagers who reportedly disguised themselves as his school mates.
But Attorney Bert Samuels says under the law, parents cannot be held responsible for the actions of their children.
"No a parent can be held responsible for a child who stabs another. That parent is at home and the child is in school, it is too remotely connected to the parent. If you give your 13 or 14 year old son your motorcar to drive then you can be held for aiding and abetting his driving without a license but if my child goes to school and conceals a knife and stabs another there is no way I can be responsible," Mr. Samuels said.
Mr. Samuels also disagreed with the Education Minister's suggestion that the Court consider whether negligence on the part of the parents led to Wednesday's incident at Ferncourt.
"At school no parent can be attached in any way in terms of forseeability that the child would have done it. Even the question of searching the bag before the child left home. Even if it was proven that the child's parent did not search the bag to know if the child was carrying a knife; no you could not attach criminal responsibility because it is too remote," he said.
In the meantime, President of the National Parent Teacher Association, Miranda Sutherland is calling for parents to be more vigilant in monitoring the activities of their children.
Ms. Sutherland says parents who fail to do so should be held responsible.
"We continue to say to our parents that you have a responsibility to speak with your children, you have a responsibility to search their bags, you have a responsibility to even understand the kind of conversation that they are having on their cell phones,"
"You have a responsibility to know who the friends of your children are. Where we find parents who are negligent, who are not capable of paying attention to these fine details then it puts the rest of us in a very uncomfortable position," she said.
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/22559/26/
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