Justice Should Be Seen to Be Done

Information

Opinion

The story of the teen rapist and his lenient sentence is not going to go away just yet. And neither should it. Four teenage girls were raped and another indecently assaulted by this serial rapist. Was it power, anger, straight-out sexual gratification or twisted sadism that led him to perpetrate these offences again young girls? There is a significant level of outrage at the unjust sentencing of just nine months’ home detention.

“Justice should be seen to be done” is not a term in law that should be taken lightly. What it means is quite simply is that, the public needs to see justice done or they will feel that the system is failing them. The whole validity of the justice system is based on the public’s consent to justice served.

thedominican.net

And justice has not been seen to be done in this case.

Against a background of a failed appeal, public outcry and a swaggering offender, the most recent development on 21 October 2022 sees:

National […] calling on Justice Minister Kiri Allan to launch an inquiry into the Crown’s handling of the Jayden Meyer rape case and its implications. […]

“Most New Zealanders are incensed by what the High Court called a ‘manifestly inadequate’ sentence for such serious crimes and the message it sends to victims of such crimes.”

Goldsmith [National’s justice spokesman] said the inquiry should consider a number of factors including why the Crown missed the deadline for appeal, and why a term of imprisonment was not initially sought by the Crown.

It should also consider whether the sentencing regime gives too much scope for judges to reduce sentences, he said.

“It’s fair to ask if a system that allows a judge to take what was generally agreed to be a crime that warranted an eight-year prison sentence down to nine months home detention is fundamentally too loose.

“Confidence in the justice system is one of the most precious things in our democracy. The minister should move swiftly to reassure New Zealanders following this outcome.”

NewstalkZB

The sentence was earlier appealed by the Crown. But the Crown lost.

When Jayden Meyer [16 at the time of his offending in 2020 and 2021] was sentenced for the rape of four 15-year-old girls and the indecent assault of a fifth, the judge, crown prosecutor and his defence lawyer all agreed on one thing – he shouldn’t go to jail.

Stuff

Why?

The Crown, however, did appeal, seeing the sentence as manifestly unjust; however, the judge allowed ‘rehabilitation’ (criminal-based justice approach) to prevail over ‘retribution’ (victim-based justice approach), and the Crown lost the appeal.

[…] High Court Judge Sally Fitzgerald concluded the nine-month home detention sentence handed down to multiple rapist Jayden Meyer was “manifestly inadequate”. But because the appeal was so delayed, and belatedly swapping home detention for prison would be “crushing”, she let the sentence stand.

Stuff

“Crushing.” How risible is this? The victims and their families are undoubtedly experiencing crushing distress and pain, but God forbid that the evil perpetrator suffer a “crushing” outcome by being sentenced to jail instead of his cushy home stay.

What does a rehabilitation programme for sex offenders look like in New Zealand?

The four major types of treatment for sex offending by adults are:

Behavioural intervention: uses positive and negative reinforcement to help offenders learn appropriate sexual behaviour.

Cognitive behavioural therapy: teaches offenders new ways of thinking and skills that help them stop harmful behaviour.

Psychotherapy: helps offenders understand why they have inappropriate sexual preferences and to correct their behaviour.

Hormonal treatment or voluntary physical castration: reduces offenders’ sex drive.

justice.govt.nz

Is this programme one that is concerned solely with rapists, young or old, or the more general sex offender classification? Is this one that rapist Jayden Meyer is able to attend while on home detention? Is it one that will see a transformation from rapist to really good bloke and a model citizen? Time will tell. But take a look at this image of him, taken while he was leaving the Tauranga District Court at an earlier hearing.

Does this look like a repentant, remorseful, apologetic, penitent, rueful, contrite sort of guy? Hell, no.

And it is not just the rapist in the family who has no respect for young women.

A website is being created. It states, “Jayden Meyer Is A Convicted Rapist. He resides in Algies Bay. Jayden’s Mother has Been Recorded Making Threatening Statements.”

There is a video on Twitter of a conversation with Jayden Meyer’s mother outside the courthouse. She is making a threat, saying that the girls need to “watch their backs”.

“Mothers are lionesses. In the next two to three years can you all watch your backs, especially the girls. And if they can put the court order against me, I’m not scared to go to jail.”

Is it his mother with whom he is being home detentioned? What can possibly go wrong?

Where does this leave us as a society? The good citizens of Algies Bay. Will Jayden Meyer be classified as a registered sex offender? All we can do is memorise his name and shun him. Parents, remember his name so you can keep your children away from him with his destructive behaviour and twisted mind. And his possible future employers? Will they see his actions as making him worthy of their time and money in their workplaces? Put a warning on HR files. He doesn’t deserve a decent life. He alone made that choice. With or without a jail sentence, this delinquent is trouble. His sentence is a woke joke obscured by process and an inadequate, manipulative judiciary.

There are many factors, familial and societal, that contribute to teens’ criminal behaviour, and rape must be considered at the far end of offending, but parents are, or should be, the first line of control.

“Whatever the biological, or neurobiological, factors that might contribute to criminal behavior, culture and social structure apparently play as great, or greater role,” says Yunmei Lu, a doctoral candidate and graduate assistant in sociology and criminology. “It also suggests a greater amount of plasticity for humans, including during their adolescence.”

In Taiwan, parents are more active in supervising their children, according to Lu. There is also a steep price for nonconforming Taiwan teens.

“In Taiwan, teens are less likely to emphasize autonomy and fun and less likely to engage in behaviors different from, or opposed to, the adults,” says Lu. “Taiwan youth are more likely to view deviance as too risky to their future success in attending a good school or finding a good job.”

Futurity.

So teens from Taiwan have perfectly formed brains? What they have is effective parents. And there is a steep price for nonconforming teens. Why not in New Zealand?

Justice has not been done, let alone been seen to be done, in this case.