Criminal Justice is a subject that is dreadfully emotive. We could be here debating theory and reality - in other words, ethics and practise - until the cows come home.
When a crime is perpetrated, there is a victim. None of us want to be victims - and so the Law is established, with deterrants to make offenders think twice. At the same time, when an accused person is proved guilty, the victim - perhaps subconsciously, at least, wants 'revenge' - in the form of punishment. Even if he himself doesn't (Perhaps he is a forgiving and phylosophical type) - the bulk of the rest of society wants punishment to be seen to be done. If we talk about a murder, then Society more than likely - deems that person a risk to have walking free (I mean, it could be 'Me' next time - I want that guy locked up)-you can almost 'hear' peoples' thoughts.
So we send the guy to prison. For how long ? Life. What does life mean ?
There was a recent case where a paranoid schizophrenic murdered someone, and was told that he would have to spend 22 Years in prison, before parole could be considered. That was a hard sentence - The 'norm' would probably have been 'Life' , meaning 25 Years, but with parole to be considered after 15 years. That does not satisfy those who are the victims (The relatives); for them, there is probably a desire for a death penalty.
Here, in England, the death penalty was abolished because no one could be certain that someone could be sentenced in error - so, here all murderes go to prison.
What happens in prison ? - I'll change 'tack' here, and talk about robbers, thieves - when these guys go to prison, more often than not, they find themselves in the company of fellow felons. The chances are that a thief will come out of prison knowing more about the art of theft than he did when he went in.
I am not being cynical; there will always be those who surprise even the prison authorities, but the bulk re-offend. In fact they re-offend so often that by middle age, the offender doesn't actually feel safe in society - much as a career soldier feels 'out of his environment' when leaving the forces. Some criminals have been known to come out of prison, and commit a crime as soon as possible, to be able to go back to the institution he understands, and in which he feels at ease.
So, the system doesn't really work. The entire prison system is a huge drain on the tax payer, and there are never enough cells, nor prisons.
Ideologically, from a moral standpoint, we should try to understand the reason for a crime. It is not just as simple as 'He had something I wanted, so I took it' - why did the burglar take it ? why didn't he do like everyone else, go and work, earn some money, and then buy the item - or probably nowadays, use a credit card before he can afford the article.
Does he have a bad work record; if he does, why ? is he lacking in self confidence ? has the Establishment let him down in educating him, when he was a child ? Did his parents and his surroundings lead him to believe that what he was doing was 'normal' ? - I think we can all see that there may well be some of these Reasons (not excuses - reasons) why the guy turned 'Bad'.
So, what should we do, from a moral standpoint ?
We ought to make good the deficiencies that led him to his path of crime. If he was born in the ghettos, from parents who knew no better, then perhaps he should be placed -as a young offender- in the care of a foster home in a 'nice' part of town. He will, after all, learn by example.
The above does'nt satisfy society. Society want revenge (a rose by any other name - call it punishmen); Society will feel better while the guy is in Prison - they're safe from him for the time being.
There actually is no answer - the criminal, from several perspectives, has no 'free will' - other threads have tried to show that the free will element is based on previous experiences, and character traits.
The Justice system has to abide by the 'Free will' of society - to lock the guy up.
And so we have a never-ending circular pattern - forseable, and which we deal with in the only way we know how. But it doesn't work, it is not 'Christian' in it's concept.
But we are only human.:help:
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