Nicaragua Takes Stock Of Its Juvenile Crime Laws In Wake Of Student Stabbing Death

Youth playing in Diramba, Nicaragua (Flickr/Ratterrell)

The recent stabbing death of a university student in Managua has ignited a fierce nationwide debate over Nicaragua’s juvenile crime laws. Critics say underage criminals hide behind the Código de la Niñez y Adolescencia to get away – literally in some cases – with murder. Rights groups, on the other hand, say the 13-year-old Código is sound. Rather than overhaul it, they say, authorities ought to do a better job of putting the code’s precepts into practice.