Punishment is not Justice
?I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.? Abraham Lincoln said this in 1865, but his words should not be overlooked when considering how people are punished in today?s unforgiving United States. When it comes to the punishment of criminal offenders, the public is becoming less tolerant. As always, the more serious the crime the more dire the punishment. On the same note, it seems like the judicial system has begun to impose stricter legislature against youths. Every new case brings with it the possibility of a new statute that can sway a jury in court. Of course, each crime deserves some kind of punishment. Without discipline, there would undoubtedly be chaos. My concern, however, is whether the punishment is just or unjust. Imprisoning a human being for a crime does not bring justice, for this type of retribution against a child or adult is inhuman. It is wrong to assume that imprisonment will cause people to become better people. Punishment, in essence, is the act of penalizing someone for wrongdoing. In an attempt to gain control over criminals, society has adopted a system of prisons and jails to hold those who commit crimes ranging from fraud to homicide. The problem is that there are more pe
ople committing violent and non-violent crimes than ever before, and there are not enough prisons to handle the increase in offenders. One prison is built every eight months on average to accommodate criminals, but little to no money is being spent on trying to introduce these criminals back into society. This is becoming a major problem for two reasons. First, prisons have become overcrowded which has begun to cause violence within the prisons. Second, more than half of those who do manage to be paroled end up back in prison for a different crime. It has become more expensive to keep a person in prison than it is to actually help then return to society. However, legislators continue to ignore this fact, and continue to build prisons that only breed criminals who are more violent. One man who believes that prisons are not the answer to reducing crime is James Gilligan, a former psychiatrist for the Massachusetts prison system. His essay ?Reflections From a Life Behind Bars: Build Colleges, Not Prisons,? explains how Gilligan has noticed that criminals who get an education in prison are far more likely to be absorbed back into society as functioning human beings. Out of all of the programs implemented at the prison, the only one with one hundred percent effectiveness was ??the program that allowed inmates to receive a college degree while in prison (501).? He believes that when financial equality cannot be achieved, the closest way to equality in a society is through education. This lowers the class barrier and allows former inmates to be productive members of their community. This also allows them to better raise their children so that the pattern of criminal activity is not passed from generation to generation. Invoking physical punishment such as imprisonment and the death penalty is in no way a form of justice. We must find solace in knowing that the people who hurt us can become fellow citizens. It ma
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1296
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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