Punishment Research Paper

Punishment Research Paper

Retribution is punishing the criminal for the crime so he is suffering as much as the victim of his crime. This is the biblical approach, an eye for an eye or if someone steals cut off their hand. “First, the just deserts model asserts that a sanction is needed to restore the balance that has been disrupted by the criminal act” (Laxminarayan, 2013, p. 941). In using this method of punishment I would recommend the incarceration of the accused for a year, or more if he was incarcerated for the first offense. This would remove him from the ability to “enjoy” his drug of choice that gave him reason to commit the burglary.

Deterrence is giving a lesser sentence then retribution gives, but enough to make the criminal think about his crime and decide the chance of being punished outweighs the benefit he gets by committing the crime. For this method of punishment I would recommend he get 90 days, and a year’s probation. This would give the criminal enough time to break his addiction to the drug, and have to report to a probation officer which would hopefully be enough incentive to stop recidivism.

The third method of punishment is rehabilitation and looks at the conditions and reasons for the crime. “Whether in the form of community service, compensation from the offender, or incarceration, victims may be satisfied when they feel justice has been obtained” (Laxminarayan, 2013, p. 939). With this method I would accept the defense attorney’s statement of the criminal’s reason for committing the burglary, and I would try to get treatment for the criminal to help him with his problem. By helping, it would fix the problem and the need to commit burglary in the future. In this scenario, I would recommend an in house treatment program, restitution to the victim, and probation for one year with required counseling.

Macionis (2011) stated, “A final justification for punishment is societal protection, rendering an offender incapable of further offenses temporarily through imprisonment or permanently by execution” (p. 194). This method is to separate the criminal from society by imprisonment