Eight juveniles in Jeddah Corrections House, who have been sentenced to death, are waiting to find out whether they will be pardoned by the family of a cleaning worker they killed. The inmates are aged between 16 and 19 and were found guilty of robbing and killing the cleaner in east Jeddah. They dragged their victim to the east of Jeddah expressway, robbed and stripped him. The worker died in the process. They robbed him of SR50 and a cheap SR50 mobile phone. Okaz also reported that a 17-year-old, who had stabbed a man to death during a quarrel, is facing a possible death sentence called for here by the General Prosecutor. Meanwhile, the General Court in Jeddah is considering a case of another 17-year-old, accused of fatally shooting a friend while they were drinking alcohol at a rest house in east Jeddah. The court has yet to determine the motive for the crime. Faiz Al-Shahrani, Director of the Jeddah Corrections House, said teenage delinquency is often caused by violent and dysfunctional family life. He said most social workers want the courts to speed up the cases of these young people and do not want them to be given harsh sentences. They argue that the youngsters can be reformed and lengthy imprisonment will not help them, said Al-Shahrani. Social workers also want juveniles held in dormitories with people of their own age and who have been sentenced to similar crimes. He said the facility is too small to house the increasing number of juveniles. It was built 32 years ago for Saudi juveniles under the age of 18, but foreign juveniles are now also sent to the facility. Al-Shahrani said juveniles convicted of petty offenses should be given alternative penalties. There should also be legislation introduced to allow foreign juveniles to serve their sentences in their home countries. This would reduce pressure on the aging correctional facility, he added. __
