Under CRC, Teen Murderer Faces Maximum 3 Years

Who can measure the value of a teacher’s life? Apart from the inestimable intrinsic value of any human life, there is also the value of the everyday sacrifice, the noble laying aside of one’s own ambitions for the opportunity to shape and mold the next generation, to make a positive difference in the world of the country’s children and youth. So just what is the life of a noble teacher worth?

Under the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), apparently not very much.

The Times of India last Saturday reported on a high school teacher, Uma Maheshwari, who was stabbed to death in her classroom by an angry student. Under India’s Juvenile Justice Act 2000, a law passed “in keeping with the UN Child Rights Convention,” the young murderer will face a maximum sentence – a maximum sentence – of three years in a reformatory. Though the 15-year-old assailant spent days plotting her death, he could be free by the time he reaches adulthood.

Lesser sentences are also available under the law, including shorter time in the special institution for youth, probation, or even a simple admonition and counseling for the boy and his parents.

Maheshwari leaves behind two children, a 16-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son, though just how the CRC is protecting their rights is unclear. Having been deprived of their mother, they will next see her murderer get a slap on the wrist.

With such lax punishments for so serious a crime, there is no real deterrent to keep teachers – or even parents – safe from the passions of any angry teen. According to comments at The Times’ website, that is the sentiment of many in India as well. (As one posted, “Who will wish to become a teacher now? … What does [this say] about our culture of respecting our teachers and education?”)

But the law will not likely be changed. It reflects the rights of the child as set forth in the CRC, which demands that 1) there is to be no life imprisonment for minors, and 2) incarceration in any form is to be used only as a last resort. The Supreme Court of South Africa has held that under the CRC no first-time murderer can face incarceration, as it cannot be a “last resort” if it is a “first offense.” Even a premeditated murder like this one cannot be punished as a serious crime.

Our own Supreme Court has already cited the CRC in ending the use of the death penalty (Roper v. Simmons, 2005) and life sentences without parole (Graham v. Florida, 2010) for minors who commit murder, as well. Should things continue as they are, perhaps we, too, will see children receive a slap on the wrist for these horrific crimes.

Apparently, an adult’s right to live isn’t worth as much as a child’s right to freedom under the CRC.

Section Three of the proposed Parental Rights Amendment will prevent this dangerous treaty from ever ruling here. Let us honor our teachers, their families, and all life in general, by keeping the CRC out of American law.

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