Posted: September 7th, 2022

Journal Entry: The Four Purposes of Punishment

Journal Entry: The Four Purposes of Punishment
I believe that punishment should be used to portray the criminal as an example to society and, in this same regard, should be applied to demotivate the criminal and members of the society from committing the crime. As such, the most important purpose of punishment within society’s perspective is deterrence from crime, followed by rehabilitation, then incapacitation and finally, retribution of the offender in that order. According to Beccaria (n.d), punishment as a means of social control should be aimed at punishing the disease rather than the person and preventing them from committing the crime. It should be swift and just for justice for all.
In this regard, retribution ranks the least in my perspective as it aims to measure making punishment as severe as the crime. Betham (nd) argues that the individual’s punishment should always measure in severity to the crime, implying that the bigger the punishment, the more severe the crime. It becomes important to answer whether the criminal justice system punishes the person or the crime they committed. I believe it should be a little bit of both to make the person learn and act as an example.
Capital punishment, in my opinion, is redundant and not helpful in the concept of fighting crime within society. In the grand scheme of things, capital punishment does not control violent crimes. According to Bedau (2018), within the society, instances where capital punishment has been used as a means to control violent offenders only serve to mask the fact that the justice system has failed to identify and confront the true issue in the crime. Killing the offender becomes the easiest way out. In this perspective, capital punishment is defined as a legal authorization to kill someone within the process of criminal justice as a punishment for crime.
It does not align with deterrence as a purpose of punishment since capital punishment is not a consistent punishment tool, especially within the United States. Bedau (2018) highlights that for capital punishment to be effective, it should be consistently applied and promptly employed to punish. As such, it works effectively to deter as people sentenced to death and the actual time of their punishment may differ in severity making capital punishment in this regard an ineffective tool of deterrence. It also misaligns with rehabilitation, as this is aimed mainly to teach and restore and individual towards their social value system. Killing them for their crime not only fails to show the society that they have been rehabilitated but also shows a failure to teach them how to live within their society.
Incapacitation aligns perfectly with capital punishment. In this regard, incapacitation is protecting society from an offender by intentionally preventing their contact with society. This is mainly for protecting society. Capital punishment fits in perfectly to permanently prevent contact with the individual. It works to prevent the individual from committing further crimes or actively influencing members of the said community.
Based on retribution, the severity of punishment should match the crime committed. Capital punishment, in this regard, misaligns with the purpose of retribution as a form of punishment. According to Bedau (2018), all crime is retributive, and most offenders are willing to confine themselves to the limited scope afforded within their retribution. Taking a life just because another person who took a life does not fit with any equivalence. This is because it aims to punish the person for the crime and make the punishment fit the crime. This is virtually impossible to achieve and unjust. It would propose that rapists be raped, for example, or torturers are tortured, which is unacceptable. It is not acceptable then to kill for killing.
In conclusion, punishment as a means of keeping societal order should aim to prevent crime from happening rather than being a means of revenge on the person for the crimes they have committed. The laws of mans’ creation drive societies and some may go against an individual’s ethical and legal requirements, but they are laws that of these societies, as such, should be respected and adhered to by all. Committing a crime may reward and individual if they are not caught. On the other hand, if an individual is caught, it may punish them. It is important to consider this fact in weighing the importance and purpose of punishment within any society.

References
Beccaria. C (nd) “Punishment as Deterrence.”pdf.
Bedau. (2018). The Case Against the Death Penalty. Retrieved 18 September 2020, from https://www.aclu.org/other/case-against-death-penalty#:~:text=Capital%20punishment%20wastes%20limited%20resources.&text=It%20unduly%20burdens%20the%20criminal,are%20spent%20on%20capital%20punishment.
Bentham, J. (nd) “The Pain Versus Pleasure Balance”.Retrieved 18 September 2020, from: https://testbankcart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Downloadable-Test-Bank-for-Criminology-A-Brief-Introduction-1st-Edition-Schmalleger1.pdf

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