Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Crime, Deterrence and Punishment
We have examined how government informs the public about new laws and regulations. Governments also expect certain behaviors from their citizens and address inappropriate conduct with certain types of punishments/consequences according to those behaviors. An alternate strategy has been to deter citizens from committing crimes with the threat of punishment. Based on what you have learned discuss your opinion regarding one of the above topics related to how the government deals with crime, punishment or deterrence. Make certain you support your assertions [opinionated statements] with facts and evidence.
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I believe that detterence and the types of punishments the government has enforced has been working well so far.But being that we are facing economic hardships and difficulties the crime rate has increased severely.Punishments in this case should be extremely enforced. This way detterence can play its part and make future criminal acts less likely to happen.
ReplyDeleteI believe that punishment for crimes such as rape and murder are not adequate enough to deter criminals through fear. Punishment for these crimes should be much more extreme, I.E. more use of the death penalty. The death penalty should be enforced for first-degree murderers and repeat rapists. The death penalty needs to be applied more because life in jail is not a very strong deterrent, considering that the max-security prisons that repeat rapists and murderers are put in offer libraries, three square meals, a library, tvs, conjugal visits, and more luxuries that some innocent people do not enjoy.
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Goverment gives punishment to crimminals that goes along with their behavior and what they have done, but it has its pros and cons. The death penalty is useless because it doesn't bring the victim back to life, and another con is it gives the wrong message: why kill people to show killing is wrong. And finally the pros: to some, people think justice is better served, and another is the death penalty brings closure to the family who has suffered so much.
ReplyDeleteSome very thoughtful responses. In recent years, perhaps the last 20 or so, the departments of correction all over the nation have revamped modes of incarceration. Some jurisdictions such as Maricopa county in Arizona have even privatized prisons. California was the first state to implement more stringent experiences for inmates by eliminating conjugal visits, tv, libraries and other "amenities." Others have done away with exercise and weight training rooms.
ReplyDeleteTo be sure, convicts should be punished as is their removal from society but does their 8th Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment still apply despite their incarceration status? Miss Boston raised an excellent point regarding the duality and possible hypocrisy of killing killers. Does that run counter to the Christian foundation upon which people believe our Republic was created [though shall not kill, forgiveness]? It certainly ends that person's ability to kill again but will it deter others bent on killing?
With regard to executing people other than convicted murderers the Supreme Court recently overturned a South Carolina law allowing the death penalty for repeat child molesters. The ruling was predicated on the 8th Amendment. Whatever your thoughts on capital punishment as Miss Boston says it does not bring back victims of crime. Therefore, is it more about retribution for those who remain?
My vantage point on the situation is that.. Our country. (The United States Of America) was founded and grown with a strong belief in God and a deeply rooted foundation of Christianity, and yes one of the Ten Commandments clearly states. I. Thou shall not KILL. so i think that the 8th amendment about cruel and unusual punishment should be implemented to the law also. Just because someone commits murder or another serious crime death should not be a choice of punishment if we follow the commandments that we built our country upon. If we just get back to the stringent punishment in prisons meaning, take all the luxuries out of prisons some of these guys are having a better life in prison than they had in the world, And seeing that times are getting tough and people are willing to do anything to provide for their families. I think the government should stand up and do something that will benefit OUR country. Instead of being over seas solving other nations problems, i've always been told to sweep around your own front door before sweeping around someone else's and that is basically what we as the USA are doing handling other peoples problems when we have problems at home! I think we just need to get back to basics and back to our christian origins!. =]
ReplyDeleteWell I think that deterrence is good even though some people are ignorant and evil. When I was younger my elders always told me if you do something then there will be consequences for your actions. So, that means we have to make the decision to do right or wrong and use our common sense. But now since crime is increasing I guess this means it is not working. So I think we should reinforce or make harsher punishments. If someone kills or rape someone then they should spend the rest of their life in prison to think about it but if someone is a thief then they should work for the money they stole. Killing killers wont make things no better except it would be less of them.
ReplyDeleteI think that without detterence our country and society would have no order. If people knew that killing someone had no sort of consequence behind it, many innocent people would be dead. Without punishments for crimes such as murder, robbery, and kidnapping people would ultimately think it's okay to commit these acts. By having punishments such as the death penalty and life in jail without parol, it shows people that you do face consequences for your actions.
ReplyDeleteI feel that deterence is extremely important for this society. Yes, sometimes this strategy works, but for other people it does not. Although, overall i believe that deterence provides something like a warning reguarding consequences. It shows fellow wrong doers what could possible happen it they decide to make that wrong decision. For example, an organization may take students to visit a jail and talk to the prisoners. Also maybe, students will be sent to juvenille hall to experience what could happen is consequences could occur.
ReplyDeleteTo me deterrence is a very important factor to help prevent crimes in the U.S. Since everyone is different deterrence may not always be affective but it is a pretty good way to help prevent crime. Like a fellow classmate said, when you do wrong you should be punished. I also think that now people are getting to use to the jail life-style. I think the government is to nice to prisoners. If the conditions in jail were worst than they are now then maybe people will try their best to behave.
ReplyDeleteI belive that deterrence is very important important to our society because it helps prevent some people doing crimes by providing a warning to them that shows them the consequences they will receive if they make the wrong decision and decide to do a crime. While some people does not get scared of the punishments, I also believe that the government should make harsher punishments so they would not do any crime.
ReplyDeleteDeterrence has been a very effective method of our society for many years. Even before our society was fromed, they used it over in England. Showing people that there are consequences to their wrong doing is a way of keeping them and others from doing wrong. It does not always work with everyone but, it works with the majority.
ReplyDeleteI really think using deterrence to scare people can be both a good and bad thing. For criminals who have raped or murder people repeatedly, the death penalty does not help society or the victim. Instead, it contradicting itself by saying it is not okay for citizens to kill someone, but it is okay for the U.S. to kill citizens. I am not saying these criminals do not deserve capital punishment, I just don’t think it is right to kill someone because of a crime they did. I think jails/prisons, boot camps, and other correction centers should be used more as a deterrents compared to capital punishment; that would make someone wish they were dead by offering extreme consequences within their facility. Deterrence can be used as a good thing as well. Making an example of someone can cause someone else to fear consequences of their actions. This can also backfire, causing controversy. There could be millions of serial killers who have a history of murders. The U.S. would have to execute them all to provide each individual with fair justice. How would that make the United States look as a country?
ReplyDeleteI believe that deterrence has played a major role in the prevention of excessive crimes. Although it does work for some, it does not work for all. I believe that the punishments for frequent crimes should be made even more severe. We should not hesitate to use the death penalty when necessary, this may prove to be more of a deterrence because it would show criminals that people would no longer think twice about killing them for their extreme crimes. As stated before, jails seem to have gotten too nice and this actually weakens the deterrence that its supposed to have. We should stop thinking that the death penalty is immoral and un-christian, and start to realize that if we utulize it more often it would act as an even stronger deterrent against criminals that have commited unforgivable crimes such as murder.
ReplyDeleteThe use of detterence by the government to inform the public of right and wrong dealing with law, is a good example setter for possible criminals. Detterence doesn't necessarily stop crime, but it helps lessen chances of it being done and the rate because criminals know the consequenses and try to be careful if they indeed do crimes. Deterrence is a good strategy, but I believe there should be other ways of punishment for the people who have mental problems and turn into serial killers. There should be a way to stop them from doing crimes even though they are mentally ill and punishment like death may not scare them. I believe prisions and correction centers would be the best because the people have lost their freedom and don't get to "escape" through death.
ReplyDeleteThe government handles the prevention of crimes in a good manner. The thoughts of possibly having to serve time in jail until death, does scare people to not commit crimes. This makes the population of criminals behind bars scarce. Now in certain situations, I believe that the government handle cases in an improper manner. For example the (T.I.) case, he has been in and out of jail for many different reasons and felony of bare arm poccession. He is only going to serve a year and a day. I believe that the outcome of that case was unfair, because if the person being held with those charges had been an ordinary citizen, the sentence would have been much longer.
ReplyDeleteMr.Quinones i Know its kind of late but i tryed at school and the internet wasn't working. Sorry i hope you take this!
ReplyDeleteI think the government handles crimes pretty decently. I'm not saying they do a awesome job but the job done is okay. True it does put a deterrence on crime like for instance, criminals going to jail or some kind of punishment to stop the criminals from being able to do what they used to do. Sometimes the government does make unfair decisions and they don't do their job to try and keep the population safe from criminals. Some criminals who are guilty don't even get a sentence some of them get to go right back out in the world and do more damage.
I believe that deterence does make a lot of criminals think before they do things/crimes, but that does not help them when they get in trouble or when they get punished for whatever it is that they have done. The government handles crimes, but they could handle them a little better. EX:If someone is found guilty of stealing they should not have to stay in jail for 5 years. I do not think deterrence stops crimes but i do believe that it does cross people's minds before they do stupid things or before they commit a crime
ReplyDeleteI believe that punishment is not strong enough for a person that has commited a crime,such as bernie madoff,he might be serving life in prison now but,during the investegation he was allowed to be at home all nice safe and sound,he commited a serious a crime,fraud to be exact this isnt for criminals to be out and about even though they havent been commited yet.I also believe,as so do some of my other classmates that the death penalty should be stronger,epecially those that committe high capital crimes and not just life in prison with out the possiblity of parole.
ReplyDeleteThe law is right by punishing a person when he/she commits a crime really big. For example murdering or rape, if the law gives that person a whole bunch of time in jail it will scare others from trying to commit that same crime. I think the lwas should be very strict and dont let anyone get away from decisions they make but then be lying about it.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the punishments/consequences for ones actions have been a success so far. But we all know there is a couple that don't really get the concept and continue to do what they do regardless. In reality they need help mentally, physically, and emotionally. So I feel like as far as dealing with these situations have been great and hopefully it will continue to improve.
ReplyDeleteThe punishments that are associated with certain crimes aren't adequate enough to cause fear in the hearts of criminals.(i.e-murder, rape, kidnapping)Promising life in prison without the possibility of parole is an escape route for some individuals. They are sick and tired of the hardships within their everyday lives and they feel that prison will only be a new place to call home.So if the justice system feels that they are deterring capital crimes by punishing life behind bars they are dead wrong. They are actually providing individuals with relief from everyday stresses.
ReplyDeletei think that the goverment handles crime in an affective way to keep citizens safe. but i also think that different kinds of crimes shouldnt all be in the same category or handled in the same way so that it's fair to everyone, citizens and goverment officials.
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