The Ethics of Crime, Punishment, and Rehabilitation
When a person destroys something like a valuable item that belongs to someone else, I believe the person cannot just walk away and pretend like nothing happened. Of course They are expected to take responsibility for the damage they have caused. Now, Same thing applicable to someone who committed a serious crime that ruins another person’s life. Allowing them to walk freely like nothing happened will not be fair to the people who are affected. I believe since people are expected to take of responsibility of everything they do in life, then taking responsibility for committing crime should not be an exception.
In our society today, some people can go to any length to achieve what they want without minding if they are going hurting other people in the process. It’s so sad that they only care more about their personal gain even without thinking about the consequences of their actions. Some people destroy people happiness through their selfish interest and even go as far as putting someone’s life at risk just to satisfy their own desires. Something, I wondered I how some people can be so comfortable causing pain to others just because of what they want for themselves.
Some people commit crimes because they allow greed to take over them, Some are commit crime because of jealousy, Some are even enveloped with their emotions and they ended up committing crime because they want to take revenge. Another thing is , some people commit crime because they want to make quick money. like, there are lots of reasons why people commit crime, but whatever the reason may be, I don’t believe it should give anyone the right to hurt others or even to break the law.
So, if a criminal is caught and found guilty, the person should face the consequences of his/her action irrespective of the offender’s status. They should not be left alone like nothing happened. After all, what is the purpose of having laws in our society if people can break them without facing any consequences?
However, it’s so sad that in our community today, some powerful and influential people do commit crimes and walk away freely without facing any punishment, while on the other hands, when an ordinary person commits the same offence , the person will be punished. I find this thing unfair about the justice system. Because why will the law only favour someone who has wealth, position, or connections? That shouldn’t be so. I believe everyone deserves equal treatment, and nobody should be seen as someone who is too important to answer for their actions. When people in the society see that some people are not being punished for their crimes because of who they are, honestly, it will make them lost trust about the system in the country. And they’ll no longer feel safe.
When it also comes to punishing criminals, I believe every offence has its own penalty, So the punishment should depend on the weight of their offense. Just like Someone who commits murder , he/she will face the appropriate punishment according to the law. So should in case the person escapes accountability, how will the victim’s family feel? Because the have lost their loved ones and knowing that the person who is responsible is walking freely might even make their pain to be more harder for them to bear.
To someone who commits a less serious offence , they should receive a penalty that matches the crime they committed. Because I feel that offenders should not receive punishments that are more severe than their offense . The right punishment should be given to them according to the law. I believe that giving justice to the victims should not be about making the offender suffer unnecessarily, but they should ensure they take responsibility for whatever they have done.
And In cases of rehabilitation, personally, I believe criminals should first face the appropriate punishment they deserve before going for rehabilitation. If the person is being allowed to change their life without facing the consequences of their crime, the victims and their families may feel cheated . And after completing the sentence they deserve and understand the harm they cause, they should prepare them to return to society as better people.
So, Rehabilitation will help them change, but cannot be used to replace accountability. It’s just like when someone get injured, cleaning the wound and allowing it to heal is importance and at the same time, the cause of the injury cannot be ignored, to prevent it from happening again. This analogy is similar to rehabilitation, it will help them to become better, but that should not stop them from being punished, because without proper punishment, people may begin to believe that committing crimes has no serious consequences and this can encourage further wrongdoing and even weaken people’s confidence when it comes to law
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