英語検定ライティング準１級（第68回）

タイトル「少年法は矛盾だらけなのか？」

Yes, this suggestion is supportable.
One reason makes the opinion acceptable.

未成年裁判に関する映画を観る機会があった。犯罪を犯した未成年が更生するわけないというのが主人公の信念だった。その言葉に納得させられたように思う。
There was an opportunity to watch the movie about a juvenile trial where the main character had a belief that
young boys and girls with a twisted mentality wouldn’t be changed to be a respectable person absolutely because they had a strict punishment.
Her verbal expressions seemed to have persuaded me to accept her belief that she doubt their improvements.

日本の少年法は14才未満のこどもが例え重大な犯罪を犯しても、投獄されないことになっている。彼らは少年院である一定の期間を過ごす刑罰を与えられる。
Japan’ s juvenile law determines that boys and girls under 14 shouldn’t be prisoned to a jail even though they committed a crucial and critical crime.
The punishment is that they should spend a certain amount of period in a juvenile reform school.

そこで改心し、更生して、社会に復帰して、立派な市民として社会に貢献するイメージは持てない。そもそも人間は自分を最優先しながら生きるのが普通だからだ。
We cannot have an image that juvenile criminals would reform themselves, be born again, return to our society and make positive contributions to us as respectable citizens in such an institution.
It is because humans usually lead a self-centered life prioritizing their own benefits in the first place.

ところがある国の制度を読んで少し考え方が変わる機会を得た。小さい犯罪限定ではあるが、やらかした者が同年代の若者に裁判されるという制度である。
However, there was another opportunity where an article about juvenile laws overseas made me change my mind a little, which said that an offender is tried by young people in the same generation while a crime is limited to be an unimportant one.

与えられる罰は、地域のボランティアとか謝罪文を書くとか将来、陪審員として勤めるみたいな感じだ。そして無事に完了すれば前科の記録として残らない。
The punishment they are offered are the followings : they serves their community as a volunteer, write apologetic letters, work as a member of the jury in the near future and so on.
In addition, they should not be recorded as a former offender when they could complete their punishment without any unacceptable behaviors.

判決を下す側が気持ちの分かりやすい同年代というのも効果があるようだ。メリットは他にもあるが、再犯率の少なさに私たちはもっと目を向けるべきだろう。
The judges in the same generation are likely to figure out criminal’s feelings and emotions, which seems to make positive contributions to their being born again.
There are several advantages about this system, but we should pay attention to the fact that an offender is unlikely to commit the same crime again, a survey says.

This reason makes the question titled above favorable.