SOC 1101 Essay 4

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Sociology

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Feb 20, 2024

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Vanderheyden 1 Kendallyn Vanderheyden Mr. Walker December 5th, 2023 SOC 1101 Sec 001 The Philosophies of Punishment with Social Disparities & Key Functions This paper will argue that our criminal justice system often worsens social disparities while performing key societal functions. It will also explain how valued functions of our criminal justice system and philosophies of punishment impact the functions of criminal justice work. There are many social disparities like income gap, gender inequality, health care, and social or race class that affect key functions in our justice system, including retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence, incapacitation, and restoration. In each part of the philosophies of punishment, people can find social disparities or valued systems within the criminal justice system. Within the philosophies of punishment, "one of the oldest and most basic justifications for punishment involves the principles of revenge and retribution" (2012). This form of punishment is often thought of as an eye for an eye, which coincides with the parts of the courts and the death penalty, where there is often an argument on whether it is right or wrong. In more recent times, we have seen cops use this method when using excessive force with people, and they reason that they deserve it for committing a crime. An example is George Floyd and Derek Chauvin; some argue that force was necessary to be used as he committed a crime, while others disagree that the force used was extreme and unnecessary. The second philosophy of punishment is incapacitation, which goes more toward the states and their responsibility to protect the public from harm. The UNODC better explains it as "

Vanderheyden 2 It prevents future crime by disabling or restricting the offender's liberty, their movements or ability to commit a further wrong (2019). It prevents future crime by limiting offenders' freedom through house arrest, electronic monitoring, and incarceration. This affects the social disparities of income gap as people with low income often are incarcerated as they cannot pay bail or for a good lawyer to get more freedom. Also, this goes into gender inequality as many times, men are thought of as more of a threat to society than women are. This philosophy of punishment deals more with the valued systems of the courts and corrections as they are the ones who decide what offenders get and see it through. The third philosophy is rehabilitation, described by the UNODC as "that punishment can prevent future crime by reforming the individual offender's behavior" (2019). Within this, there are many different programs that can include training prisoners in jobs for experience, group work, behavioral therapy, and counseling. Some argue that the courts will often label offenders who need rehabilitation as mentally ill and that the courts do not do much regarding health care. A social disparity that comes with this punishment is that if someone goes in within a low social class, they will have a more challenging time when they get out and have to get off their feet. The fourth philosophy is deterrence, which, in simple terms, is that the idea of any punishment will deter others from committing said crimes. This has been the thought around punishment for a long time, although it does not work as well as they thought it would when it first came about. There are two types of deterrence general which has to do with public, and the one that fits more for this paper is specific deterrence. The criminal law book describes specific deterrence as "the government punishes an individual defendant, he or she is theoretically less likely to commit another crime because of fear of another similar or worse punishment" (2015).

Vanderheyden 3 This punishment is unfair to people in the income gap or social class as those lower in the brackets are often living in areas surrounded by crime, and often, it can be as simple as being in the wrong place at the wrong time for some people. It is also not a guarantee to work, and many think it does not work as we have lots of crime, along with people who have punishment and go on to re-offend. The fifth and final philosophy of punishment is restoration. The Department of Justice defines it as "part of the difficult behavioral and psychological change process required to remedy the harm that the offender's criminal behavior caused" (2002). This punishment is not discussed often, as it includes the offender taking active accountability. This helps communities as they can talk about how or why they are not feeling safe. The restoration will be different in a high-class society versus a low-class society. We see it often that crime is more resolved in areas of high income vs low income due to the frequency of much more crime in a lower social class. The perspectives of punishment can exhibit varying social disparities within the purview of the justice system. The paper argues that the criminal justice system is often biased against minorities and other vulnerable groups and that the ideologies of punishment often undermine its functions. It also explores how these values can affect the outcomes of criminal justice. Various social disparities can affect the various functions of the justice system, such as health care, income inequality, and gender inequality.

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