The Role Of Punishment In Early Colonial America
The main theme that I pulled from this unit was laws and the methods of punishment: deterrence and retribution, as well as the treatment the prisoners faced. In class I remembered writing these words down (methods of punishment), and after reviewing the chapters and looking back at notes I pieced together why they were so important. I felt like the treatment of these inmates was just as important as well.
In early colonial America the colonies developed their own set of laws based on their religion and there was little difference between crime and sin. The early colonists did not identify crime to be a social problem; instead, they considered crime to be "a predictable consequence of a fallen world and active forces of the devil." (Blomberg …show more content…
Crimes that were punished with public shame, was more of embarrassing the person such as wearing the letter A for adultery. A step up from public shame, was physical discipline convicts might suffer flogging, branding with a hot iron, or the loss of their ears. I really didn’t agree with physical discipline because I don’t think that solved the problem because people think differently. I don’t believe that criminals should be carefree and live life after committing a crime but I also don’t think the brutal methods of the punishment during the colonial time were good examples …show more content…
The goal of rehabilitation is to stop future crime by giving offenders the ability to succeed within the limits of the law, but I think these prisoners weren’t given the chance to succeed because they succumbed to brutal punishment. I think some of things the prisoners went through indeed made them crazy. I also read in the 1820s and 1830s the bizarre techniques that was brought upon inmates if they did something wrong such as being gagged, but I feel like that the inmate isn’t gaining anything while being in prison like they should but being set up for when they are released to commit more crimes and ending back up in prison where they should have learned something. I think prison is a place where you should learn from your mistakes and I find it hard in both of these books how it’s possible for that to happen when you are being abused by
In early colonial America the colonies developed their own set of laws based on their religion and there was little difference between crime and sin. The early colonists did not identify crime to be a social problem; instead, they considered crime to be "a predictable consequence of a fallen world and active forces of the devil." (Blomberg …show more content…
Crimes that were punished with public shame, was more of embarrassing the person such as wearing the letter A for adultery. A step up from public shame, was physical discipline convicts might suffer flogging, branding with a hot iron, or the loss of their ears. I really didn’t agree with physical discipline because I don’t think that solved the problem because people think differently. I don’t believe that criminals should be carefree and live life after committing a crime but I also don’t think the brutal methods of the punishment during the colonial time were good examples …show more content…
The goal of rehabilitation is to stop future crime by giving offenders the ability to succeed within the limits of the law, but I think these prisoners weren’t given the chance to succeed because they succumbed to brutal punishment. I think some of things the prisoners went through indeed made them crazy. I also read in the 1820s and 1830s the bizarre techniques that was brought upon inmates if they did something wrong such as being gagged, but I feel like that the inmate isn’t gaining anything while being in prison like they should but being set up for when they are released to commit more crimes and ending back up in prison where they should have learned something. I think prison is a place where you should learn from your mistakes and I find it hard in both of these books how it’s possible for that to happen when you are being abused by