Crime and Punishment

Crime and Punishment
Written by Kelly L. Hunter


Today’s society is faced with many challenges that often leave people feeling hopeless. There are many factors that contribute to these particular challenges including poverty, race, gender, social status, and the break down of the traditional functional family values. In many cases when an individual is faced with these difficult life challenges they ultimately find themselves in situations that are dangerous not only to the individual but to the community around them as well. This is not to say that everyone who comes from a broken home or who is a product of the lower class will turn to such things as a life of crime, but all-to-often this is the reality that many individuals will experience.
According to some studies, crime rates in America are down substantially from the 1980’s and mid 1990’s. Gary Lafree (2000) states that “The lowest reported rate of murder since World War II occurred in 1957 and the lowest reported robbery rate occurred in 1956” (¶ 3). Lafree (2000) goes on to say that “Violent crime rates began to increase dramatically during the crime period boom” (¶ 3). This boom spanned from 1961 to 1974 when murder rates were said to have doubled along with robbery rates which nearly tripled during this time (Lafree, G. 2000).
The early 1960’s and mid to late 1970’s were a troublesome time for most American people. The Vietnam War caused a substantial amount of controversy amongst society, anti-war protestors and police battled daily in the streets of many American cities, violence erupted in urban areas during the Black Power and Civil Rights movements, and drugs were also easily accessible and plentiful at this time. Gary Lafree (2000) states in his report that, “Murder reached its postwar peak in 1980 and robbery in 1991” (¶ 3). It has been said that due to the introduction of crack cocaine in urban areas as well as the increased use of handguns for self-protection, violent crimes began to spin out of control during this time period.
Gangs began to take over city streets across American in the mid to late 80’s which eventually increased the rate of homicides in urban areas. It has been said on numerous occasions by psychologists and other experts that our young people find their way into gangs as a means for support and a family type atmosphere; this is something that they cannot find at home and are seeking elsewhere. One expert states that “It should come as no surprise that young people who join gangs have no functional family” (Young People Join, 1998). In this case, the choice being made is harmful and negative and will most likely lead the child down a path that ultimately can end in an unnecessary and untimely death. This is when and where functional family values are most needed and missed.
Although crime rates have decreased and are lower than they were a decade ago, crime is still a factor amongst American society. The majority of people are tired of their tax dollars being spent on building more prisons and housing more prisoners, however, society does not want crime to go unpunished. So the question is, “Which form of punishment will best fit the crime and most effectively deter criminal behavior and how will this benefit the criminal and society a like?” The solution isn’t an easy process, however, I believe that it will not only be effective in the long run but will be beneficial to everyone.
There have been several forms of punishment for criminal behavior since the first recorded reports of mankind. In the early centuries, punishment was just as barbaric if not more so as the crime committed. Some countries still practice these barbaric forms of punishment today, such things as public hangings, stoning, and firing squads are used to deter crime in these countries.
Statistical reports indicate that the countries that use these methods have a lower crime rate than we do here in the United States. Although these methods seem to be working for some, the majority of the American public feels that these forms of punishment are too inhumane.
“Retribution is the oldest form of justification for punishment and in principle; punishment should be equal in severity to the deviance itself” (Macionis, J., 2006. p. 182). According to society’s moral beliefs and the need for moral balance, the only way to restore the upset of this balance caused by criminality is to punish the criminal for their actions (Macionis, J., 2006. p. 182). Deterrence is a second form of justification for punishment. As stated by Macionis (2006), “Deterrence is based on the eighteenth century Enlightenment idea that as calculating and rational creatures, humans will not break the law if they think that the pains of punishment outweigh the pleasures of crime” (p. 182).
With these two ideas in mind, it seems that the Eastern way of punishing crime works better than the judicial system practiced here in the United States. The problem is that American criminals do not seem to fear the punishment that awaits them when they are committing, in many cases, violent acts of domestic terrorism. I imagine that I am not alone when I say that I do not want my tax dollars taking care of someone who has molested, abused, or murdered a child. If a person is indeed found guilty for such acts through DNA testing and other credible sources, then why shouldn’t they be punished by way of public hanging or stoning? I would imagine
after a few of these public forms of punishment, people would think twice before committing such unspeakable acts of crime.
J. Macionis (2006) states that “The third justification for punishment, rehabilitation, is a program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses” (p. 183). He also states that “Deviance is viewed as the result of social problems (such as poverty) or personal problems (such as mental illness)” (p. 183). With rehabilitation, the treatment is based on the offender and his or her own personal circumstances. Rehabilitation is a wonderful and positive alternative to spending time incarcerated in a state or federal corrections facility. In my opinion, rehabilitation can and does work; however, I believe that this process is best used on juvenile and first time offenders which are when a life of criminal choices often times begins.
Rehabilitation for juvenile offenders is a necessary and almost scare process that should start long before a child ends up in the criminal court system. All-to-often, children who commit crimes are simply locked up in a detention center to serve out their time, instead of receiving a more positive feedback that will teach them that a life of crime isn’t their only option. When asked what she would change about the juvenile system if she were in charge, Judge Nancy Hoffman said, “If I were in charge, I would like to have more intervention very early on without charging crimes” (Juvenile Justice, 2006).
There are several different non-profit organizations throughout the United States that have started various rehabilitative treatment programs for young offenders, all of which come with a very high and encouraging success rate. Programs like the Juvenile Rehabilitation Achieves (JRA) organization and the Camden County Fire Watch Program teach offenders about self respect as well as opening them up to other possibilities through community work, music, dance, and art to name only a few. These programs tend to have a 90% success rate and offer after-the-fact treatment programs once a child has left the facility (Success Stories, 2006). Programs like Functional Family Parole are offered to the entire family to help them through the process of leaving treatment and re-entering back into society (Juvenile Rehabilitation Achieves, 2006).
Lastly we have social protection which is a modern approach that is easier to carry out than rehabilitation if the community and society are unwilling to rehabilitate offenders (Macionis, J. 2006). This process is said to protect society by means of incarceration or the execution of the offender. Although the death penalty is justifiable in many cases, the methods used are rather tame in comparison to the crimes that are being committed not to mention the cost of the trial for these types of cases which have risen into the millions.
There are many flaws in our judicial system here in America and it seems that we could learn a wealth of knowledge from countries whose punishment truly fits the crime. Quite possibly if we as a society and country used all four of these methods of justification and punishment together in the proper manner, we may see the results that we have long-time been looking for. There is no doubt that an offender should be punished for their crimes, however, we first need to stop sending innocent people to jail while the real offender is actively able to commit more crimes (unfortunately this happens everyday in our country due to a corrupt system).
Secondly, we need to teach parents how to be better parents so that they can teach their children how to be productive adults in their future. We also need to come together as a community to help these children understand the importance of diversity and togetherness as well as keeping our youth active in school activities, community volunteer work, and most importantly off the streets and out of jail. We also need to teach young people the importance of self respect, the respect of others, and education. It seems that we as a country are letting the media and television raise our children instead of doing it ourselves. These children can either be our future leaders or our future criminals, the choice is ours.
Thirdly, we need to stop allowing violent criminals the opportunity to live off of our tax dollars that we could be using to restore places like the Gulf Coast, not to mention our poor health care system, as well as our lack of an educational system in this country. The best way to benefit the criminal mind and society as a whole is to use deterrence that will let individuals know that committing crimes would not be a wise decision and to rehabilitate those who can be rehabilitated. I know that if I were thinking about committing a crime, I would think twice about it if I knew that I would get my hand cut off for stealing or hung for killing someone. It has been statistically proven to work and would quite possibly lead us into a better tomorrow.