The “White Bear” short film brings up an interesting discussion on justice. It is easy to accept that in a land governed by laws and protected by military and police some people will break those laws and disturb the peace. Often the discussion centers on the topic of what should or shouldn’t be criminalized. For example, in class just a couple weeks ago we spent an entire class talking about the concept of over-criminalization and the role cops play in society.
This post will take a turn from the parts that lead up to an arrest and will instead focus on the aftermath. The question I’d like to consider is: What is the ‘just’ way to punish someone for breaking the law. In my opinion, one of the first responses to this question is that it depends. Like it or not, I believe that circumstances matter. Everything classified illegal shouldn’t be punished the same. The punishment for murder, rape, and treason should vary drastically from actions like fraud, underage smoking, and various other misdemeanors. In fear of reopening the topic of ‘what is justice’ and rehashing the Greek philosophers, a safe assumption should be that the definition of justice would influence what we thing punishment should be.
If punishment is used to teach people to become better members of society, then clearly we're doing it wrong. Recidivism (the rate at which people end up in jail again) is astronomical and shows an inherent flaw in the system if we're using jail time to teach people to act better. Another way we might view punishment is that someone who commits a crime deserves to feel the same suffering that the victim went through. However the problem with this is that some crimes are actually victimless, while that would also justify the death penalty and other brutal forms of punishment.
A third option was displayed in the short film we watched in class. This movie displayed a form of punishment that said someone should suffer in a way similar or even beyond the crime they committed. One of the scariest lines in the film was when it was said that death wasn't punishment enough. Instead, the people running the 'camp' put the person through a torturous day of fear and pain over and over again so she could feel the pain she caused.
As stated earlier there are a lot of ways to use punishment. I for one think the 'White Bear' method is completely unwarranted. To wipe someone's memory and then put them through a situation like that only adds more injustice. Yes, what she and her boyfriend did to the kid was terrible, but if it was unethical to do that to the kid how is it ethical to do it to her? Ethics shouldn't change and punishment I believe should be used to add to society. Our jails and legal system needs to stop focusing on punitive punishment and instead try and find a way to help these people improve their lives. These people aren't soulless criminals who want to do nothing except break the law. No, they're more often than not people who have fallen off and feel they have no other choice in life. Punishment needs to be a balance making people realize actions have consequences but also that hope and forgiveness are real.
The purpose of prison is not to create better members of society. The idea of prison is simply a deterrent for people to not commit crimes. At most prisons, there is no attempt made to make inmates better contributors of society. I agree that our prisons are chalk full of too many people who have committed trivial crimes and I'd prefer my tax dollars go to pay for them. What can we do as punishment for criminals so as to deter them from making crimes upon their release? It's a question that has yet to be answered with a plausible response.
ReplyDelete