Erdoğan's 'Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi' move... Heavy penalties for child killers are coming: A new sentencing tier is on the way

The murder of 15-year-old Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi in Kadıköy by two children led into crime deeply shook Turkey, and the fact that perpetrators under the age of 18 would receive sentence reductions after the incident sparked major outrage. Although the indictment prepared requested up to 24 years in prison for the child murder suspect, legal experts noted that he could be released from prison after 10 years due to the "child reduction" provision.

Following these developments, the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) took action in line with the instruction given by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said, "Let there be no more Minguzzis." The Parliamentary Research Commission is preparing for a radical change in the penal system for serious crimes committed by minors.

NEW SENTENCING TIER COMING

In the study prepared by the commission, the age limits and sentence reductions in the Turkish Penal Code are being re-evaluated. According to current legislation:

Children who have not completed the age of 12 bear no criminal responsibility.

Children between the ages of 12-15 do not receive sentences if they cannot perceive the legal meaning and consequences of the crime they committed.

For children between the ages of 15-18, sentences are applied according to the severity of the crime. In crimes requiring aggravated life imprisonment, a prison sentence of 18-24 years can be given, and in crimes requiring life imprisonment, 12-15 years.

The commission proposes introducing a more detailed tiering in sentences according to these age ranges and removing the reductions applied in certain cases. Especially in murders that "contain brutality" or "wound the public conscience," the implementation of heavier sanctions is being brought to the agenda, even if the perpetrator is a child.

SENTENCES ARE MORE DETERRENT IN EUROPE

The commission within the TBMM also examined practices in Europe and America. In many countries, sentence reductions for child offenders are kept limited, and in serious crimes, child perpetrators can be tried like adults.

In some states in the USA, children over the age of 14 can be tried in adult courts if they commit serious crimes. In a case heard in 1993, a 13-year-old defendant who brutally murdered a 4-year-old child was tried as an adult and sentenced without any sentence reduction.

In Canada, children over the age of 14 are referred to adult court depending on the nature of the crime they committed.

In England, children over the age of 10 can be tried in criminal courts instead of juvenile courts for serious crimes.

The report to be prepared by the commission will also include recommendations on how the practices in these countries can be adapted to Turkey.

With the new legal regulations to be made, changes in the quality of the rehabilitation process before children enter prison, probation periods, and the penal execution regime may also come to the agenda.