People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
Mark 10:13-16
CONSIDER THIS: Jesus teaches us to care for the little children and be childlike in our acceptance of the kingdom of God. The kingdom belongs to the little children because they are innocent and deserving. Our juvenile justice system recognizes the innocence of children in the same manner as the Bible, providing alternative sentencing structures and methods for handling those under 18 within the system. In fact it typically recognizes that a child under 10 is not really capable of having the requisite mental state to commit a crime. At the same time the system permits some juveniles to be tried as adults if they commit a heinous crime.
How can we rectify this treatment of juveniles as adults given the teachings of Jesus? Should the criminal justice system always give them the benefit of the doubt because they are juveniles?
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