1 - Minimum age of criminal responsibility

Question 0

Age 10-14

Answer 0

Rebuttable presumption of doli incapax

Need to prove that offender has dolus.

Question 1

Doli incapax

Answer 1

Child in NSW (deliberately)

- dolus requires intellectual maturity and life experience

Question 2

Age 14-18

Answer 2

No rebuttable presumption but still juvenile

Expected that offender knows the difference between right and wrong.

Question 3

Jamie Bulger (UK)

Answer 3

1993 - Jamie Bulger killed by two 10 year old boys
1998 - the ‘New Labour’ government in the UK passes the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, removing the presumption of doli incapax for 10-14 year olds
1996-2006 - there is a 550% increase in the number of juveniles sentenced to jail in the UK

Question 4

Corey Davis (AUS)

Answer 4

1998 - Corey Davis drowns, thrown into the Georges River by an 11 year old boy
1999 - LMW is charged and put on trial in the Supreme Court of NSW. The Prosecution fails to rebut the presumption of doli incapax
2000 - the decision is made to keep the rebuttable presumption of doli incapax

Question 5

Adulteration

Answer 5

The processes by which the distinctions between adult and youth justice are eroded.

A trend toward Neo-conservative authoritarianism influenced by punitive rationalities.

Since the 1990s, responses to juvenile offending have been increasingly influenced by ‘adulteration’ processes that have local, national and global dimensions.