Jeff Jacoby's Essay Bring Back Flogging

Second, he presents himself as somebody who understands that some or majority of the readers might not agree with his viewpoint. He presents both sides of the story by acknowledging the fact that prisons have managed to transform some prisoners even if they have not achieved much. Third, he refers to Warden John’s viewpoint that if many older prisoners were to be released, then they would not harm our societies (Rideau Para. 5). In so doing, he claims that if prisons were to remain, then they should target the young

The diction Loury uses creates an image of two sides between Americans and criminals. Throughout the essay, Loury refers to criminals as “them—a bunch of anomic, menacing, morally deviant ‘thugs.’” (3), and Americans as “we.” He uses inclusive language to appeal to the audience. Nonetheless, there is a negative tone attached to these words. Simply by creating two sides, it is almost as if there is a battle between the two--and there is. Criminals want justice, while Americans try to keep them locked in for extreme reasons. These extreme reasons include juveniles being put on death row, or innocent people being falsely accused of a crime. Another technique Loury uses is the way he describes America. He is referring to America in third-person or as an individual noun. One, in a third-person point of view, it allows the reader to see all of the reasons come together. Two, he excludes America as its own form; it ironically emphasizes his point that “the U.S. is an international outlier” (2) since we exclude our own citizens. Loury isolates America’s issues by referring to America as its’ own individual form, which reflects on our issues that other countries do not have. With this, we are able to highlight as readers the issues we have that do not correspond with other countries. There are facts, presented as dry evidence, stated to prove that these problems exist only in our

the nature of punishment the Puritan’s would endure. In the first chapter, the Puritan lifestyle is

Throughout the years, the use of imprisonment has varied, along with its influences of society. It is thought that although prisons have been around since the thirteenth century, prisons as we know them now to be have only been around for the last three centuries. The first uses of prisons were not seen as a form of punishment instead they were used as a way of making people do something. People would be held in prison until they paid their debts, or awaiting trial and then leading up to their sentence. McGowen (1995) suggests that from the early 1700s ‘bridewells’ a house of correction have existed, however at that time being used merely for vagrants and drunks. At the end of the sixteenth century there was a shift in punishment to imprisonment, along with this came a new, more humane idea of reform. Criminals would spend their days of prison carrying out hard labour. However after the American Revolution, imprisonment took a step back and there was another change. There was mass overcrowding within the prison service and although the death penalty was still being used it was a symbol of the power of the state. Therefore, an everyday way of dealing with offenders would be transportation to the colonies, being either Australia or America.

Without the use of these statistics, Jacoby would not be able to suggest such a solution and effectively convey his point. As a result, Jacoby proves that through his research, he is qualified to make his arguments against prisons.

According to Wilbert Rideau's opinion, prisons do not work, and there are various reasons why this happens. As indicated in the last paragraph essay, one of the major problems of prisons circulates in the fact that politicians take the easy way to make the people think they are doing something to combat crime. They invest in police and prisons that do nothing but keep us in a repetitive circle without giving us any solution. Although prisons do have a role in society safety, they do not provide people total security. Actually there are big criminals that are not in prison and the ones who are in prison are not getting rehab.

     Jacoby’s claim in simple is he believes that flogging should be brought back to replace the more standard conventional method of the imprisonment of violent and non-violent offenders. His grounds for the revival of flogging stems back to his initial mention of the Puritan punishment system. He cites how in 1632 Richard Hopkins was Flogged and branded for selling guns and weapons

Some parts of the book highlight the social issue with incarceration while the other part there are political discussions of possible solutions to try and fix such a corrupted society.

Whenever you imagine prison, you think up ideas and violent images that you have seen in the movies or on TV.   Outdated clichés consisting of men eating stale bread and drinking dirty water are only a small fraction of the number of horrible, yet “just” occurrences which are stereotypical of everyday life in prison.   Perhaps it could be a combination of your upbringing, horrific ideas about the punishment which our nation inflicts on those who violate its’ more serious laws that keeps people frightened just enough to lead a law-abiding life. Despite it’s success in keeping dangerous offenders off the streets, the American prison system fails in fulfilling its original design of restoring criminals to being productive members of society, it is also extremely expensive and wastes our precious tax dollars.

Throughout the entire essay, Jacoby uses a very purposeful and believable tone. It is clear that he is avid on supporting the start of flogging as punishment, and lowers the prison rates. He uses evidence to display how prison is bad and how terrible some criminals can be to each other. The writer uses fair evidence to describe how the prison is bad, however his evidence is not fair toward flogging. Jacoby needs to add more details on why flogging would be benefited because he only used short explanations or none at all. He came across as a bit bias toward flogging over prison, which would be prosecuted easier if he said a few aspects of the prison system that was alright and discussed flogging more. Jacoby proves his point, but does not at the same time. He clearly states that the justice system needs to be changed and he thinks flogging would be better. However he needs to go deeper into the topic to fully declare one better than the other.

To begin with, at the start of his article, Jeff Jacoby mentions old punishments, horrible punishments, pursued by Puritans, but at the same time

Answer: I think the authors point of view is one sided a little because he thinks everyone thinks their life out completely and has common sense. A lot of these crimes could have been prevented but you also have to take into account that persons circumstances. The crimes discussed in this chapter showcases that it can be a good explanation and not every murderer is a

Jacoby claims the imprisonment system has far more inhumanities than flogging. He berates the prison system’s inadequacies, such as the ever-growing prison population, prisoner yearly

Flogging…What is it? What purpose does it serve? For those of us who have never heard of flogging, flogging refers to “beating with a whip or strap or rope as a form of punishment” (“Flogging” 1). Throughout the 1600s, flogging was utilized by “Boston’s Puritan Forefathers” (Jacoby 1) as a method of corporal punishment for various crimes. Progressing forward, Jeff Jacoby, columnist for The Boston Globe, provides readers with his view of “Boston’s Forefathers’” system of punishment in his essay, “Bring Back Flogging.” Within the contents of his work, Jacoby describes how flogging was utilized as punishment in its day. One such example he utilizes involves a woman who pleaded guilty to committing adultery. He writes that her punishment was

Consequently, I believe my thought process not only started with law enforcement officers, but also ended there as well. There was not mention of what happened in prisons such as their conditions or even the social construction that occurs inside. There was no news cast or school discussion on the impact of America’s prison systems on the defiant individual. Therefore, their wellbeing was not my concern. I did not pay attention or care to notice the individual that was arrested once those cuffs were on. It was a symbolic condemnation of their guilt, and it was one that I believed should be displayed in an even more radical