Sociological Perspective Of Punishment Is Economic Determinism And Class Interest

Firstly, it is important to acknowledge the concept of ‘just deserts’ where punishment reflects the pain caused and therefore earned by the criminal. To expand based on Hudson (1996) ‘an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ punishment must be proportional to the crime. All forms of custodial

Bentham, J. (1789). Punishment and deterrence. In A. von Hirsch & A. Ashworth (Eds., 1998), Principled sentencing: readings on theory and policy (2nd ed.). 53-57. Oxford: Hart Publishing.

Consider the design of a puppet. When observing this structure, one will give attention to the source of the puppet’s actions being dictated by the puppeteer. These actions are able to be transmitted from the will of the puppeteer into the puppet through the strings that the puppeteer uses to control specific parts of the puppet. Furthermore, one can infer that the strings of the puppet are the motive behind the puppet’s action. If the puppet’s actions are disoriented or even disjointed, one can infer that the strings or the motives behind the puppet’s actions are conflicting. A notable literary example of this depiction can be found in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserablés. Late in Book V: Valjean, Jean Valjean describes the method of reasoning behind Javert’s suicide when he says, “To owe life to a criminal...to betray society in order to remain true...these absurdities should come about and be heaped on top of him...it was this that defeated him” (Hugo 1181). Javert’s adherence to his internal conflict imploded and eventually influenced his suicide; a reader might see Javert’s decision and confirm that an inner conflict of motives prompted his unanticipated action. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a 19th Century existentialist Russian author, portrays a similar theme in his book Crime and Punishment which tells the story of a man named Raskolnikov, the suspect of a murder case, who appears like a puppet with actions that become increasingly

It is common knowledge that crime exists all over the world and that justice and punishment may vary in different countries and societies. However, how justice and punishment is enforced in a society and globally is not common knowledge. Global justice refers to the belief that the world is unjust; while social justice, in a manner of speaking, refers to the fair treatment of everyone in a society.(“Social Justice”). Both social and global justice value human rights, remove inequality, and holds people accountable for fair practices.(“Social Justice”). If someone commits the same crime as another person, for example, they should receive the same punishment. That is what most people would be inclined to believe, but in the reading “The Moral Ambivalence of Crime in an Unjust Society” by Jeffrey Reiman, crime and justice is reviewed and defined in an uncommon way. Reiman discusses justice in a society where a crime was committed against him and his wife.

In his book “Punishment and Inequality in America” Western discusses the underlying racial disparities that have lead to a mass incarceration in the United States. He states that incarceration rates have increased by a substantial amount. The race and class disparities viewed in impromesment are very large and class disparities have grown by a dramatic amount. In his book he argues that an increase in mass incarceration occured due to a significant increase in crime. The increase in mass incarceration can also be correlated with urban street crime that proliferated as joblessness in inner-city communities increased (Western, 2006). He also states that an increase in incarceration rates may be due to the changes in politics and policy which have intensified criminal punishment even though criminal offending did not increase. Although these are substantial reasons as to why incarceration has increased significantly in the US there are many underlying issues. The incarceration rates amongst young black men have increased the most in the United states, black men are more likely to go to prison than white and Hispanic men (Western, 2006). This may be largely due to factors such as unemployment, family instability, and neighborhood disorder which combine to produce especially high rates of violence among young black men in the United States (Western, 2006). A rise in incarceration rates may also be largely due to to increased drug arrests which represent the racial disparity.

Many individuals believe that the criminal system and its institutions are flawed. These critiques have been brought on by the ineffectiveness of prisons to reform individuals, the ineptness of the system to reduce crime rates, the lack of focus on victims of crimes, as well as the racist, classist and sexist practices existing in these institutions. Therefore, we can ask ourselves if the elimination of the current penal system and the implementation of alternatives would better allow

Provide the justifications for punishment in modern society. Punishment functions as a form of social control and is geared towards “imposing some unwanted burden such as fines, probations, imprisonment, or even death” on a convicted person in return for the crimes they committed (Stohr, Walsh, & Hemmens, 2013, p.6). There are four main justifications for punishment and they are: retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation. There is also said to be a fifth justification of reintegration as well.

Crime and punishment is a large part of society today as well as the most ignored. Robert Ferguson’s book, Inferno: An Anatomy of American Punishment describes the topic of crime and punishments in the American justice system. In his explanation, Ferguson also goes into detail on the topic of the “Punishment Regime.” The punishment regime can be described as a legal process to which a person in society is punished. The groups that part of the punishment regime include jurors, police officers, prosecutors, judges, and correctional officers. All the members of the punishment regime have a specific job in administrating a punishment to an individual. The main focus in this essay will be how the punishment regime has administered punishment in

Societies throughout history have always tried to service punishment or retribution over those that are considered delinquents or criminals in their society. The societies in the industrialized world have seen several transformations in their mission to achieve this level of discipline. Vast portions of the population have become very disenfranchised with their criminal justice system has meant that in recent years, and mostly since the 60 's, a main theme in exertion of control over societies deviants has been a state-sponsored attempt to rehabilitate criminal populations. In the face of steadily

Choice theory says that before a person commits a crime they weigh the consequences and benefits of their actions before committing the action, however, what the person does not get to consider is the unforeseeable consequences of their actions behinds those criminal acts, that is the invisible punishments. When defendants go before a judge and plead guilty, the judge engages them in a colloquy, this is a conversation between the judge and defendant making sure the defendant was not coerced into pleading guilty, that they were not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and that they are pleading guilty because they are guilty. What is not openly discussed is all the other privileges they would be giving up by pleading guilty.

The criminal justice system views any crime as a crime committed against the state and places much emphasis on retribution and paying back to the community, through time, fines or community work. Historically punishment has been a very public affair, which was once a key aspect of the punishment process, through the use of the stocks, dunking chair, pillory, and hangman’s noose, although in today’s society punishment has become a lot more private (Newburn, 2007). However it has been argued that although the debt against the state has been paid, the victim of the crime has been left with no legal input to seek adequate retribution from the offender, leaving the victim perhaps feeling unsatisfied with the criminal justice process.

Punishment is defined as “the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense” (“Punishment”). Some prominent theories of punishment include retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and the moral education theory. Although retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation are all crucial components of punishment justification, independently the theories have weaknesses that avert the moral rationalization of punishment. I believe that Jean Hampton’s moral education theory is the best justification for punishment because it yields the most sympathetic and prudent reasons for punishment, while simultaneously showing that punishment cannot be justified by solely

The utilitarian theory of punishment is another approach to the criminal justice system. Richard B. Brandt believes that this type of punishment is frequently found in Great Britain and the United States. He believes that utilitarian’s differ in their thoughts as to what is the “ideal” system would be but the punishment extended should be fair and that the threat of punishment may be more important than the punishment itself. Brandt discusses the difference in the prosecution and defense used to obtain maximum utility and how the punishment should be implemented and how to mitigate the punishment.

Criminal punishment focuses on four different purposes, which are “incapacitation, deterrence, retribution and rehabilitation” (Rome, 2013, p. 269). The concept of incapacitation is the idea that criminal offenders are kept from further committing criminal acts while securely kept in jail/prison. Deterrence is based off of the idea that by others in society seeing criminals punished and put in prison for committing crimes, the chances of others committing crimes are decreased. Retribution is the idea that society will be satisfied by the fact criminals are punished by being locked in prison. Finally, rehabilitation focuses on re socializing criminals to become productive members of society. Though criticisms have been made towards the use of rehabilitation, evidence based research suggests that new rehabilitative strategies can reduce recidivism. New rehabilitative strategies include intensive therapeutic interventions that “provide rewards for pro-social behavior, and match the abilities and learning styles of the offender” (Rome, 2013, p. 269).

We all live in a society where our actions are prolific us and may avail us various benefits but at the same time our actions can be detrimental to the other. Our society has created certain norms and regulations which are to be followed by each and every person is compelled to follow them in order to avoid a state of anarchy. Punishment is used as means to reform the wrong doer into a law abiding citizen. Punishment is the consequence of offence and the kind of punishment that is imposed on the wrong doer depends upon the kind of society one lives in. Punishment as a means of social control have been present in our societies since time immemorial and though punishment in ancient time were more severe and with passage of time punishment theories