It has been argued that punishment is an ineffective way to deal with those convicted of criminal offences.  Equally, it does not act as an adequate deterrent to future criminals.  As such we should seek alternative methods that both rehabilitate offenders and are more beneficial to society as a whole.

Argument in favour of punishment

There are two types of punishment to consider: (i) Capital Punishment or the death penalty and (ii) Imprisonment.  Arguments in favour of retaining Capital Punishment include that of :

• It removes the worst criminals from society : dead people cannot commit further crimes against society;
• Cost – Society does not carry the cost of imprisonment of convicted murderers
• Retribution – Justice is seen to be done for the crime committed

Arguments supporting the maintenance of imprisonment include:

• We need to remove hardened criminals from Society and imprisonment acts as both a deterrent and suitable punishment
• There remains the opportunity for future rehabilitation and release into society
• There remains the right of appeal whereas the death penalty is final

Alternative approaches

There are other methods of crime prevention beyond the conventional approach of punishment schemes.

Perhaps one of the better examples is that of Juvenile Crime in the USA.  This has reached epic proportions placing the judicial system in a position where it cannot cope with the young offenders.  Statistics illustrate that most juveniles are repeat offenders from an early age, they originate from poor ethnic backgrounds and impoverished families where child abuse, drugs and violence are common place.  This is essentially a social problem and not a criminal one. The juveniles need to be caught at an early age and enter re-education programs before they commit more serious crimes.  At the moment there seems inadequate resources and funding available to provide such juvenile assistance.