By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Cabinet minister and attorney Algernon Allen said parents should be held more accountable when their children are accused of negligence or criminal conduct, arguing that the law allows parents to be charged in certain cases involving juvenile offenders.

Mr Allen made the comment when asked about a recent Abaco boating tragedy in which a 12-year-old faced negligence-related charges after the death of a 15-year-old boy.

“As a parent and as someone who has observed what has been happening in relation to charges of juveniles, I do think that parents should bear more responsibility for the aberrations, for the negligence, for the criminality of their children,” Mr Allen said.

“I know what the law says, and we all must act within the law, but the law doesn’t say you can’t charge your parents. In fact, the law says that the parent can be charged, and so I leave it at that.”

Mr Allen also called for greater sensitivity in the handling of juvenile defendants, weighing in after footage of a young boy being escorted from a police vehicle in Grand Bahama triggered public criticism. The footage emerged after a 12-year-old boy appeared in court in connection with the fatal shooting of his eight-year-old brother in Bimini in May.

A magistrate ordered the boy to undergo six weeks of psychological therapy in Grand Bahama before a decision is made on how the matter proceeds.

His father, Dexter Durell Saunders, has been charged with child cruelty and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger the child’s life.

Mr Allen did not comment directly on the case, but said society must show greater empathy when tragedy collides with the justice system.

“From time to time, there’ll be that and many other instances,” he said.

He also referred to the aftermath of a recent major traffic accident, saying he saw conduct he considered inappropriate, but declined to elaborate because he did not want to prejudice anyone who may come before the courts.

“I noted what I consider very inappropriate gestures and gesticulations by persons who I thought would have had a more somber face, who would have been more grieving and appreciative of the enormity of the disaster,” he said. “So from time to time you're going to have that.”