Childhood and Crime

How does the legal system accommodate an individual who is simultaneously a child and a criminal? Claire McDiarmid examines a number of serious cases from legal, philosophical and sociological perspectives, including the murder of James Bulger in 1993. She argues that a thorough investigation of the child's criminal capacity, drawing on developmental psychology, is necessary to provide a fair and rational basis for decisions on responsibility and disposal in respect of such children. Childh...