A twelve-year-old boy appeared in court in Britain on Tuesday after being charged with the murder of a social worker. The hearing at Crown Court in Sheffield was initially about organisational matters. The trial will begin in August at the earliest.

The boy is accused of running over the 60-year-old social worker with her own car. The woman died at the scene. The twelve-year-old is also said to have carried a knife.

The case will not be heard by a juvenile chamber because it is a capital crime. Unlike in Germany and many other countries, criminal responsibility in England occurs at the age of ten, in Scotland at the age of twelve.

A discussion about lowering the age of criminal responsibility has also flared up in Germany after several serious criminal cases involving children have recently occurred. In the Franconian town of Wunsiedel, an eleven-year-old is associated with the death of a ten-year-old girl. In Freudenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, two girls aged twelve and 13 are said to have killed a twelve-year-old.

Most scientists, however, consider a reduction under 14 years to be misguided. The United Nations recommends the entry of criminal responsibility at the age of more than twelve.