Honduras Congress debates increasing juvenile penalties

The National Congress of Honduras has initiated consultations regarding potential reforms to the juvenile justice system. The discussions focus on two primary legislative paths: increasing the maximum prison sentences for minors or lowering the age of criminal responsibility to allow young offenders to be prosecuted as adults.

Currently, Honduran law limits the maximum sentence for minors to eight years, regardless of the severity of the crime, such as murder, extortion, or kidnapping. Tomás Zambrano, President of Congress, warned that criminal gangs are likely to exploit current laws by using minors to commit crimes to avoid harsher penalties.

The Family, Childhood, Youth, and Elderly Commission has opened a socialization process to gather input from various institutions. Participants in the technical discussions include the Public Defense of the Supreme Court, the Public Ministry, the National Commissioner for Human Rights (Conadeh), and the Secretariat of Children, Adolescence, and Family (Senaf).