Penology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Penology - Essay Example Punishment is a penalty given by the court to the person who commits a crime. When a punishment is given to a criminal, the criminal thinks twice before committing the crime again once he/she comes out of jail. Punishment is a very effective tool for reducing the number of crimes in a society. Absence of punishments in a criminal justice system not only makes the offenders and criminals fearless but also encourages them to commit crimes again. Punishment alone is not a very successful method for reducing the number of crimes because where it injects fear in the minds of the criminals; it also injects a sense of retribution in them, which is harmful for the peace of society. A good method is to make use of rehabilitation along with punishment because rehabilitation is a process that changes the behavior and attitude of the criminals. Psychologists attempt to alter the behaviors of criminals by doing their psychotherapies and guiding them towards the right direction. Therefore, we can say that although punishment is effective in reducing the number of crimes but it should be accompanied with rehabilitation to transform criminals into peaceful citizens. 2.1 Effectiveness of Punishments Chatturvedi (2006, p. 3) states, â€Å"Justice or fairness in punishment is the essential task of sentencing†. The efficacy of punishments also depends on the type of punishment and the reason behind the punishments. Punishments are very useful because they not only prevent criminals from committing crimes without any fear but also play a vital role in setting up and maintaining peace in a society. There is a diverse range of punishments for different types of crimes. For some crimes, the punishment gets over with fines. However, for some crimes, there are harsh forms of punishments, such as, lifetime incarceration and death penalty. Punishments should be justified in order to be effective. Cavadino and Dignan (2007, p. 36). â€Å"Punishing people certainly needs a justification, since it is almost always something that is harmful, painful or unpleasant to the recipient†. 2.2 Corporal Punishment or Death Penalty Before going to describe whether death penalty and corpora l punishment are rational ways of punishments or not, let us get a better understanding of what death penalty and corporal punishment actually are. Corporal punishment means using physical force on a criminal as a form of punishment for a crime, whereas death penalty means sentencing a criminal to death because of some form of crime, which he/she commits. Both forms of punishments are given to the criminals in almost every country depending on the nature of crimes. Critics of death penalty say that although corporal punishment is a harsh punishment, still it is a much better way to punish the criminals as compared to death penalty. Even corporal punishments can be justified only if bearable force is used on the criminals as a form of punishment instead of using heavy physical form, which can result in damaging any specific body part of the criminal. â€Å"The death penalty has been the focus of abolitionist