Justification of Punishment

Justification of Punishment 1 Justification of Punishment Sociology 120 Derek Goodson April 7, 2009 Justification of Punishment 2 There are four different types of punishment that have been put in place over the years in order to deter crime in society; these four types are retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and societal protection. These four different types of punishment have raised many questions in today’s society. The changes in today’s society have brought into question the effectiveness of each one of these types of punishment and whether or not they are effective in the way that they were initially put into place for. We will examine each type of punishment in order to see which one is the most effective in deterring crime in today’s society. We will also take this chance to decide if these punishments actually provide any benefits to either the criminals that they are put in place for or for society whom these punishments are put in place to protect. The first justificationof punishment that we will discuss is that of retribution. Retribution is the moral vengeance to satisfy a society’s need of an offender to suffer as much suffering as they have caused. Retribution is the oldest type of punishment that has been used in society. Retribution dates back to the beginning of punishment in modern society. Retribution was designed to give society moral closer for a person’s actions. Ultimately, retribution is the closest justification of punishment to the old saying in the bible “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth”. The second justification of punishment is deterrence. Deterrence is an attempt to discourage the act of crime by the use of punishment. Deterrence is a form of punishment that uses examples of different punishments that have been used in the past in order to keep someone from committing a criminal act. This justification is based on the fact that when someone sees what could happen to them if they commit a crime that it will keep them from committing that crime in order to not receive that punishment. In the old west lynching and public hangings were forms of deterrence to keep people from committing crimes. Justification of Punishment 3 The next justification of punishment is rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is based on the fact that if an individual is incarcerated for a crime then while in prison they will receive classes that will teach them how not to commit the same crime when they are released, as well they are able to receive training in a job so when they are released they have a future ahead of them that does not include a criminal life. Rehabilitation has become the standard justification of punishment for most of the modern world because society sees the previously used justifications of punishment as unjust and unnecessary. Social Protection is the final justification for punishment. Social protection is based on the thought of removing an offender from the society in which they committed the offense. Social protection differs from rehabilitation because there are no special programs put in place for an offender to have a chance to change they are either locked up in prison or they are executed for more horrific crimes. In American society we currently use the last three justifications. The justification of deterrence is used with young offenders including first time offenders and under age offenders who are too young to enter into the prison system or youth detention centers. We as a society use the justification of rehabilitation for many of the offenders that are in our prison systems these days. Most people in today’s society believe that those individuals that have committed crimes against society deserve a second chance and therefore believe that rehabilitation is the best option for offenders. When it comes to my opinion I feel that the best justification for punishment is that of Retribution. I believe that when it comes to lowering the amount of criminal acts that take place in American society Retribution would put fear into people when they see what could happen if they commit a crime against someone in American society. I look to our countries history as well as the history of countries in Europe that used retribution when a crime was committed. Take for example in mid evil Europe when Justification of Punishment 4 an individual would steal from another person or a store they would have their hand cut off and then that person would be known as a thief. Probably the most well known use of retribution was not even an actual event and is not even a crime in today’s society, the book The Scarlet letter shows us a wonderful example of retribution so that the person is humiliated and also it would show other individuals what would happen to them if they committed the crime of adultery. The consequences of certain punishments do provide benefits to both criminals and society. Retribution provides benefits to both parties in some cases. As long as the offender is not being put to death then theywill hopefully take the embarrassment of the punishment and make sure that they don’t commit an offense again. Society benefits from retribution because this justification will more than likely keep others from committing the same crime that the offender is being punished for. Deterrence benefits criminals because this is their opportunity to actually keep from doing a crime. Rehabilitation is the most beneficial to a criminal because it gives them an opportunity to better themselves and return to society a better person and take a second chance at new life in which they can put the bad things they have done before behind them. Social Protection protects society just like it says in the name because it completely removes the offender from society and therefore society is not at risk to be assaulted by these offenders again. These four different justifications of punishment that have been used over the years have both their pros and cons, but they have been effective in their use in American society. Though not all of these justifications of punishment are used on a regular basis in American society in this day and age there are situations that still arise in which they are. There are many situations in which there are multiple justifications used in order to punish an individual that has committed an offense against Justification of Punishment 5 Society. Much like the justice system that has been put in place in American society these may not be the best justifications of punishment that could be used but they are the only ones in place at this time.