This theory states setting punishment as a message or lesson to the offender or the society as a whole. Racism is the belief that members of one race are inferior to members of another race. Ten argues that rehabilitation just doesn't work and that deterrence isn't much better. African-American defendants have appealed their sentences based on Fourteenth Amendment equal protection claims. As I told you earlier, Punishment is a method that was used since ages and was in the system with its all roots deep into the soil. The role of the legislatures during this period was to design sentencing laws with rehabilitation as the primary goal. Advocates of rehabilitation point out that past efforts failed because they were underfunded, ill-conceived, or poorly executed. When a citizen's criminal tendencies are "cured" (in a manner of speaking) so that he or she never has the urge to commit crime again and, even further, becomes a productive member of society, then society is not only protected from future harm but it's also made richer by the successful re-entry of one of its members. Proponents advocate just deserts, which defines justice in terms of fairness and proportionality. But evaluations of correctional treatment show it doesn't consistently prevent or reduce crime. George Hegel and Immanuel Kant criticized and rejected the utility theory, presented the contrast retributive theory of punishment, which is of non-utilitarian on the premises that punishment is not means to an end but end in itself. Specific deterrence applies to an individual defendant. . Juvenile Justice is good example of Reformative Theory of Punishment. This is because nearly the entire criminal justice system is based on rational choice theory. From this information we can see that the proportion of African-Americans arrested was just over double what one would expect. 4.93 Rehabilitation looks to identify and address the underlying causes of criminal conduct, by changing an offender’s personality, attitudes, habits, beliefs, outlooks or skills to stop them from re-offending. 1. George Hegel and Immanuel Kant criticized and rejected the utility theory, presented the contrast retributive theory of punishment, which is of non-utilitarian on the premises that punishment is not means to an end but end in itself. Retribution means giving offenders the punishment they deserve. Philosophical reflection on punishment has helped cause, and isitself partially an effect of, developments in the understanding ofpunishment that have taken place outside the academy in the real worldof political life. Specific and General Deterrence. Throughout history, there have been several different notions as to how this help should be administered. Fifty percent went back into the system. Punishment VS Rehabilitation In The Criminal Justice System Pros & Cons. Rehabilitative theories of punishment are diverse in their foundations. Punishment is proportional to guilt. Firstly, the theory of punishment is Rehabilitation. These expenses have placed a crippling financial burden on many states.  Consider two purse thieves. Reformative means to restore person back to society as a good citizen. “you cannot cure by killing” is the motto behind this theory. The basic idea is that African-Americans and Hispanics are involved in more criminal activity. According to Kant and other retributivists, the guilty deserve punishment; punishment is their just desert. When this unequal treatment is willful, it can be referred to as racial discrimination. Disproportionate minority contact refers to the disproportionate number of minorities who come into contact with the criminal justice system. Rehabilitation calls for changing the individual lawbreaker through correctional interventions, such as drug‐treatment programs. Historically, these ethnic minorities have not been given equal footing on such important aspects of life as employment, housing, education, healthcare, and criminal justice. Rehabilitation and its concepts are relatively new and are for the greater good. Retributive theory “Let the punishment fit the crime” captures the essence of retribution. Retributive Theory of punishment The Retributive Theory of Punishment, or the ‘Theory of Vengeance’, as many people in the society would perceive it as, is the most basic, yet inconsiderate theory of inflicting a penal sentence over a perpetrator. That disease must be cured like some other diseases. Purpose: crime is disease, of person, of society, TREAT IT! The American Civil Liberties Union (2014), for example, states, “African-Americans are incarcerated for drug offenses at a rate that is 10 times greater than that of whites.”. If only adult criminals could be successfully rehabilitated, then the phenomenon of crime could be all but eliminated, and criminal offenses restricted from then on to juvenile delinquency and the occasional act of passion. Third, to the extent that Murphy's concern here is sound, it would indict not just retributive justice, but likely all theories of punishment. There is no real question that incapacitation reduces crime by some degree. Ah, if only. Another steals because of a lack of legitimate job opportunities and a lack of food: this thief feels bad about snatching purses but, nonetheless, he steals. The goal is to re-integrate offenders back into society. Another steals because of a lack of legitimate job opportunities and a lack of food: this thief feels bad about snatching purses but, nonetheless, he steals.In the first case, rehabilitation theorists urge trying to improve the person’s character and values. A major focus is on the deterrent effect of a criminal statute because if a criminal statute deters a criminal act then the public benefits because the crime does not occur. It is difficult to deny the data: Discrimination does take place in such areas as use of force by police and the imposition of the death penalty. The idea that people commit crimes because they decide to do so is the very foundation of criminal law in the United States. For centuries punishment has been debated by philosophers, lawyers, and political leaders. Rehabilitation is the most valuable ideological justification for punishment, for it alone promotes the humanising belief in the notion that offenders can be saved and not simply punished. Purpose:crime is disease, of person, of society, TREAT IT! During the politically conservative era of the 1980s and 1990s, lawmakers took much of that power away from the judicial and executive branches. If the rewards of the crime outweigh the punishment, then they do the prohibited act. The law had certain harsh penalties that were triggered by weight, and a provision that required one hundred times more powder than crack. The rehabilitative ideal alone conveys the message that the state has an obligation to help those who fall short of the standards of behaviour it has set. We might easily imagine a third, as suggested above in the introduction, where rehabilitation is cast as an alternative to punishment. Deterrence theory holds that severe or disproportionate punishment is morally justified if it prevents future crime. Giving punishment for the acts done by the offenders which are against the law of the nation, would set an example for others to not commit crime as well as the society to refrain from it, which can be respectively said as specific deterrence and general deterrence . We believe that providing negative consequences for off-limits behaviors will lead to avoidance of those behaviors, and the goal is not to exact revenge but to better enable children to function in society. Punishment … They have nothing to do with the defendant’s criminal behavior, and everything to do with the defendant’s status as a member of a particular group. Common ground. The reformative theory of punishment is basically a rehabilitation of the offender through the punishment imposed over him. Without a culpable mental state, there is no crime (with very few exceptions). Retributive theories generally maintain, as did the Italian criminologist Cesare Beccaria (1738–94), that the severity of a punishment should be proportionate to the gravity of the offense. It generally involves psychological approaches which target the cognitive distortions associated with specific kinds of crime committed by particular offenders - but may also involve more general education such as literacy skills and work training. Rational choice theory is the simple idea that people think about committing a crime before they do it. It's pleasant and beautiful to imagine the successful general rehabilitation of society's criminals. It was created as part of a wider strategy to coordinate and consolidate the Prison and Probation Services, which had previously been relatively independent. Moreover, the very idea of unfair advantage which the criminal gains, makes it morally improper to expect that the criminal will reform himself to a good human being. The essence of this punishment is the belief that no one is a born offender and these offenders of law are humans too. It may seem contradictory to assert that offenders are punished for their treatment and reform, but this basic principle underlies the rehabilitation purpose of punishment. When evaluating whether deterrence works or not, it is important to differentiate between general deterrence and specific deterrence. Common ground. Rehabilitation is a noble goal of punishment by the state that seeks to help the offender become a productive, noncriminal member of society. Restitution. This system of beliefs about the purposes of punishment often spills over into the political arena. Rehabilitation is to restore to useful life, as through therapy and education for the offenders. No need to spend hours finding a lawyer, post a job and get custom quotes from experienced lawyers instantly. 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