THE NATURE OF PUNISHMENT

ARGUMENTS ON THE NATURE OF PUNISHMENT FOR CRIMES

A REHABILITATION AS AN ESSENTIAL FACTOR IN DETERRENCE

In the current debate over punishment and rehabilitation there are very few voices that are raised against punishment altogether. In the following selection of writers who support the rehabilitation of criminals and the reduction of the number who are merely punished without any attempt at reforming them, there is also an emphasis on the necessity of keeping habitual violent criminals away from the rest of society. Jenish and Chisholm argue that the notion of parole as a rehabilitative tool is fine, but that the process is applied without making important distinctions between habitual violent criminals and those who possess the capability to benefit from rehabilitation. Wilson also makes the point that long prison terms are desirable and necessary for violent criminals, but he argues that the deterrent effect of punishment is already effective for most of the population, that the most serious offenders are already imprisoned, and that worsening punishment for some (e.g., the "three strikes" rule) is not justified since they would benefit from other forms of social action. Dumaine holds that forms of intermediate sanctions, rather than prison time, will serve society's ends of punishing criminals and reducing crime. Robinson argues that the American system of criminal justice has failed to maintain its moral authority, largely because of its own mistaken rules and

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iction that the entire system has gone wrong and that this is the reason the deterrent effect of punishment has been undermined. DiIulio, for example, holds that lesser sanctions, such as tight parole and halfway house options, simply do not work. The availability of such options lessens the deterrent effect of punishment and does nothing to reduce crime. Staddon argues that psychology has misled society into thinking that punishment does not really work as a deterrent. But, he says, punishment that actually is based on the assignment and acceptance of personal responsibility deters those who might repeat their crimes. Both Gill and Newman argue that the apparent failure of punishment to act as a deterrent is simply due to the fact that punishment is not harsh enough, immediate enough, long enough, or certain enough. These writers do not view punishment as having a retributive function, but the idea of retribution is not entirely absent from the articles by Gill, DiIulio, and Newman. DiIulio, who principally addresses the effect of crime on the inner-city African American community, believes that probation and parole and other alternatives to long prison sentences simply do not work in reducing crime. He recommends harsh,

Category: Government - T