NewsWhore
11-23-2011, 01:50 PM
The modifications to the Code for the Protection of Boys, Girls and Adolescents (or the Code for Minors), which entail stiffer penalties for minors who break the Penal Laws, have been approved by the Chamber of Deputies after two readings. The bill, submitted by Deputy Ramon Rogelio Genao, was passed with the favorable vote of 120 legislators, with three votes against. Ten deputies did not vote. The changes establish a maximum sentence of between 3 and 10 years of prison for minors between the ages of 13 and 15 who break the law. It increases the maximum penalties from 5 to 15 years of prison for young people between the ages of 16 and 18 who commit crimes. The proposal increases the investigation of minors accused of committing a criminal act from 10 to 30 days.
As reported in the Diario Libre, the changes include Article 380, which says that minors should be sent to special prison facilities for adolescents, separate from adult prisons. Also, article 224 says that when a person claims to a minor, they must undergo specialized examinations and tests that will allow the authorities to establish their age with precision and the article's only paragraph says that in all cases the person will be presumed to be a minor until proven otherwise. The competent court that will issue the final verdict as to the age question will always be the Boys, Girls and Adolescents Court. Article 291 says that provisional imprisonment, ordered by a judge during the investigation, can last up to four months and could be extended by providing the motives to the judge of Boys, Girls and Adolescents. For children caught in flagrante delicto (red-handed), whoever makes the arrests must place them immediately in the jurisdiction of the Justice Department, in the area of Minors, and these authorities have to present their accusations of the defendant(s) within the following 30 days at the latest.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)
As reported in the Diario Libre, the changes include Article 380, which says that minors should be sent to special prison facilities for adolescents, separate from adult prisons. Also, article 224 says that when a person claims to a minor, they must undergo specialized examinations and tests that will allow the authorities to establish their age with precision and the article's only paragraph says that in all cases the person will be presumed to be a minor until proven otherwise. The competent court that will issue the final verdict as to the age question will always be the Boys, Girls and Adolescents Court. Article 291 says that provisional imprisonment, ordered by a judge during the investigation, can last up to four months and could be extended by providing the motives to the judge of Boys, Girls and Adolescents. For children caught in flagrante delicto (red-handed), whoever makes the arrests must place them immediately in the jurisdiction of the Justice Department, in the area of Minors, and these authorities have to present their accusations of the defendant(s) within the following 30 days at the latest.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)