A judge in Al-Mowaih, a suburb east of Taif, earned my respect and admiration with his innovative and constructive style of dealing with juvenile delinquents.
Forget jail cells and lashes, this judge has put the minor scoundrels to work, in one case ordering a small-time crook to clean 26 mosques in 26 days. Another youngster that was busted drinking alcohol was assigned 100 hours of community service as a janitor at the offices of nearby charities.
This judge has it right. He knows it’s foolish to send youths who have committed minor infractions into a prison system that has the potential of turning their youthful mischief into irredeemable adult criminal behavior.
Instead, these youths have time to reflect on their actions through the meditation and reflection inherent in good old-fashioned repetitive manual labor, like sweeping floors or dusting off rugs.
Prisons and jails, on the other hand, are not environments conducive to refining the behavior of young adults. This judge obviously shares this sentiment. Judges far and wide should emulate his ideas.
Judges should not only adopt this strategy for juveniles, but even adults in certain cases of non-violent and relatively minor criminal behavior. They should consider the convicted defendant’s family situation and determine how a punishment will affect the innocent members of the family.
This judge didn’t wait around for the results of bureaucratic focus groups and workshops by the Ministry of Justice in coordination with many governmental sectors to find alternative ways to deal with juvenile delinquency. He simply implemented from his bench what he felt was necessary to fix what is fixable.
