Criminal Punishment in American Society - Essay Example

Criminal Punishment in American Society of the of Introduction Criminal punishment is the act of inflicting pain or an unpleasant experience to someone who has broken the laws laid down by the government or the society. The mode of punishment varies from society to another and from one offence to the other. Usually, the actions that are deemed to be more serious as far as violation of the law is concerned are punished heavily. Every society has some procedures that it follows in the process of punishing the criminal. Some take the criminal to the court of law for prosecution, while others punish the criminal without giving him the benefit of the court of law. America, and other so-called democratic societies, takes the prisoner to a court of law for the decision to be made on how the criminal should be punished. Other societies, mostly the dictatorial ones, do not take the criminal to the court. The criminal is punished arbitrarily. Prisoner's Rights in America A prisoner, or the criminal, has his rights that are protected under the constitution. These rights should not be taken away from him, regardless of the fact that he has broken a law. The constitution of America has undergone many amendments since its inception. The first ten amendments that took place are referred to as the bill of rights (Todd et al 67). Contained within these ten amendments are the rights that should be enjoyed by a prisoner (Todd et al 67). These amendments took pace at the same time. They were put forward on September twenty fifth, 1789 (Todd et al 67). In their book "American Corrections", Todd et al identify two amendments that relates to the right of the prisoner and his relationship with the correctional institution. The Eighth Amendment and Rights of the Prisoner The eighth amendment is such one amendment that the book talks about. The amendment was carried out in the year 1791. It covers cruel and unusual punishments meted out to the prisoner. It says, in part ".excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted" (Todd et al, 2000). The effects of the Eighth Amendment on the Relationship between the Prisoner and the Correctional Institution This amendment still influences the relationship between the prisoner and the correctional institution. The institution holding the prisoner should not treat him using inhuman techniques like electric shocks, lashing or food rationing. The courts should not issue an excessive punishment to the prisoner. The punishment should be in line with the crime committed. For example, a prisoner cannot be issued with a death sentence for pick pocketing. Unusual punishments should not be meted out to the prisoner by the incarcerating institution. Some authorities have been known to sexually abuse and harass the inmates. For instance, the united states have been accused of castrating prisoners taken in the Iraq war. Inhumane acts have been committed to terrorist suspects in the now defunct gutaenamo bay prison. It thus altered how the prisoners related with the correctional institutions. They are respected and treated as human beings not like animals. The prisoners are not given punishments like hard labor. As a result of this amendment, living conditions in the holding institutions are periodically checked to ensure that the prisoner is not under any threat as far as his human rights are concerned. The Fourteenth Amendment and Right S of the Prisoner Another amendment that touches on the rights of the prisoner as identified in this book is amendment number 14. It states in part that ".no state shall deprive any citizen of life, liberty or property.without due process of the law" (Todd et al, 2000). What this means is that a prisoner who is a citizen of the country should be taken to court before he is punished. The due process been referred to means alignment in court and sentencing by the court. The prison should not incarcerate an inmate, "depriving him of his liberty" without a sentencing from the courts (Todd et al 167). The Effects of the Fourteenth Amendment on the Relationship between the Prisoner and the Correctional Institution This amendment redefined how the correctional institutions like the courts and the police, together with the jails, treated the prisoner. They can not arrest the suspect indiscriminately and lock him up in jail. The criminal, been a citizen of the United States of America, has the right to be arraigned in court. The guilt or innocence thereof of the prisoner should be determined by a court of law. The state cannot the person to jail without first determining his guilt and this is done by the courts. What this has meant is that persons are not indiscriminately arrested, and when arrested, are supposed to be presented in court within a specified time period. If the person is held for a long time without been taken to court, he can file for damages and the state promptly loses the case. If any of the above rights of the prisoner are breached, the prisoner can take the institution to the courts. This is because a fundamental right of the citizen, for the prisoner is also a citizen, has been breached. History of Corrections and Practice in America America has a rich history of corrections and practice. This history can be discerned in form of seven eras. This is what is covered from chapter three of the "American corrections" (Todd et al 37). Let us look at some of the eras. Era of Enlightment This proceeded the colonial era. There was the development in beliefs. This was especially the ones recognizing the rights of a man, the importance of the person and the limitation of the role of the government. Free will was also recognized as leading to crime. The society realized that the individual criminal can be changed. Brutality was also reduced as a form of punishing the criminal. The form of punishment here reflects an enlightened society. The people realized the criminal can be rehabilitated. The state also had its powers reduced as far as punishing crime was concerned (Todd et al 32). People began to rethink about "procedures to be used to determine guilt and the limits of the state to punish" (Todd et al 32). The reduction of the state's influence in the rehabilitation of the crime should be maintained. The criminal should be rehabilitated by the society. This is one of the forms of dealing with the criminals that was practiced at this age. It should be integrated in to the current laws. This is because the criminal offended the society and will come back to the society after he is released. The society should be the one to correct him in the best way that it thinks befits their ideals. Colonial era (1600-1800) This is the criminal punishment that existed in the colonial era in American history. The following are the form of punishments issued in the Plymouth colony. This was before the American civil war. Some of the earliest court records date back to the year 1623 to 1691. These records show us the justice system of the pilgrims. They issued punishment based on their interpretation of both scriptural law and that of the English. The mode of punishment shows us the moral and religious ideals of these people. In 1636, five form of offences called for capital punishment. These were willful murder and witchcraft. Others included arson associated with razing down ships and houses, sexual offences like sodomy rape and adultery. The fifth capital offence was buggery. Todd et al (27) say that galley slavery was another form of punishment. It involved the forcing the criminals to row ships (Todd et al 27). Another was imprisonment of the offender (Todd et al 27). This society was religious, so they combined both the biblical and English law. For example, bestiality and homosexuality were against the biblical teachings (Todd et al 78). The practice of sentencing a person to death for willful murder should be integrated in today's penal system. This is because taking away the life of another person deliberately is lack of respect for human life. If one does not have respect for the life of another man, his life should not be respected either. Some people are against this form of punishment today but it should remain as it deters murderers. Era of reformatory movements (1870's-1890) This era was brought about by the disillusionment of the society with the current penitentiary mode (Todd et al 49). It was an oppressive system. New classifications of prisoners were introduced. They were now to be classified based on their character and institutional behavior. They were also "classified by age, sex and degree of criminality" (Todd et al 33). Releasing the prisoners early was used as an incentive to encourage the prisoner to reform when in jail. The reformatory movement came to a close when reforms failed to be instituted in the penitentiary system (Todd et al 89). Brutality, corruption and failure to implement the reforms contributed to the demise of this era. But some of its key features like classification and rehabilitation of the criminal survived. Parole and rehabilitation should remain. It is very important to rehabilitate a prisoner back into the society. This reduces cases of recidivism into crime. Rehabilitation makes the prisoner view the whole process of incarceration in positive way and as a result, reform. Failure to rehabilitate will make the prisoner bitter towards the society and all the institutions leading to repeat of offences. Classification should be integrated for it is not right to incarcerate men together with women, juveniles together with adults and murders together with pick pocketers. Every group has its own needs as far as reform is concerned. Progressive era (1890's-1930's) This was the era of reforms. Science was applied to crime. This is both the criminal behavior itself and treatment of criminals. People trusted the government to eliminate crime. Scientific revolution made people critically analyze institutions like the prisons (Todd et al 32). They realized that "progress will.bring about a just community" (Todd et al 32). This era was marked with industrialization and scientific advancement (Todd et al 32). Probation was introduced in 1841 by John Augustus (Todd et al 53). Parole and juvenile courts were also part of the reforms. Indeterminate sentencing was also part of the package (Todd et al 53). The response to crime in this era shows the enlightenment of the society with the evolution of science. Science was applied for the first time in criminal justice. Though most of these reforms failed, some are good and can be incorporated in today's system. This includes the probation and parole reforms. This is because petty offenders should not be treated the same way as the hardcore gangs. They should be put on probation. Scientific approach should also be used to address the crime. This is because even criminal behavior has a scientific basis and it can be understood well if studied scientifically. This is why disciplines like criminology should be scientific. Medical model era (1930's-1960) This era saw the realization of the fact that criminals can be medically treated. This is because crime was seen to be stemming from biological and psychological conditions within the individual. The criminals were taken and treated as patients (Todd et al 55). The theories of Sigmund Freud started to be referred to in treating the prisoners (Todd et al 55). This era was a reflection of a society that was undergoing scientific evolution in the fields of social sciences, especially psychology and social work. The rehabilitation of prisoners based on the fact that their behavior is psychological can still apply today. This is because even today, "criminal acts signals distress, failurespasms of struggle of a sub marginal human being" (Todd et al 55). Prisoners can be rehabilitated through psychological counseling. Social work is also very important when it comes to rehabilitating the prisoners. This is because most of their problems which bring about crime are socially and psychologically based. Most criminals come from disturbed backgrounds, like ghettoes. Community era (1960's-1970) The main aim of this era was to reintegrate the criminal back into the society. Incarceration was discouraged. This is because prisons could not reform the prisoner, only made him worse. Probation was encouraged. They realized that psychological treatment of the criminal should be complemented by integrating the prisoner back to the community. Social workers became very important, not just mere "charity deliverers to the poor" (Todd et al 56). The reintegration of the criminal back to the society is a very noble idea. This is because at the end of prison term, the person will come back to the society. As such, he should be taught how to live in the new environment. There have been reported cases of a prisoner failing to re-integrate himself back to the society. This leads to psychological traumas. The prisoner might deliberately commit a crime to go back to the prison, where he is used to live comfortably. Crime control era (1970's-2000) This saw the realization of the fact that crime can only be controlled through increase in the rate and duration of incarceration. As Todd et al say in their book, the "pendulum swung again" (57) as far as crime response was concerned. The treatment of the prisoner went back to the early times. The medical treatment of prisoner was seen as not working. This was a reflection of the increase in crime in the 1960's (Todd et al, 57). The community had a pessimistic view of the medical treatment and community incorporation of the criminal. "Death penalty was re-instituted in 37 states" (Todd et al 59). The increase in duration of incarceration can be used as a deterrent to crime. It has exhibited some form of success especially in today's violent society. Death penalty should not be banished in today's violent society. It deters murderers. The introduction of mandatory penalties for certain crimes and for repeat offenders should also be integrated in today's society. This will reduce the rate of repeat offenders and those committing certain crimes like rape and murder, which are very serious. Era of mass imprisonment/ modern era (2000- to date) As the twenty first century came around, people started to take a new look at the criminal justice system (Todd et al 60). This era saw the mass incarceration of Africans in American prisons. It is a relatively new occurrence. Blacks are seven times more to be imprisoned than the whites. Many of those incarcerated were young black males. They were tried for drugs mainly. This era saw the introduction of tough laws against drugs. These laws disproportionately affected the young blacks. There were changes that were done to the judicial system that led to the build up of prisoners. By the start of year 2001, two million people were in prison. This was a five-fold increase as compared to the 1970's. This is also called era of prison boom. This form of criminal punishment is evident of a society plagued with inequality and racism. Blacks are targeted by the laws introduced. It also shows the increased violence of our society. However, the tough laws on drugs should remain. This is because drugs are a menace to any society. The increase in number of people incarcerated should not be criticized. This is because all criminals have to face justice, even if they are many. They should not take refuge in numbers. The judiciary reforms that brought about those new laws should be encouraged. Periodical reviews of the laws should allow the society to adjust with the changing trends in crime. For example, the issue of terrorism was not a very threatening factor in American life some years back. But the twenty first century has seen the increase of such crimes. Laws should be reformed then to deal with it. Summary Criminal justice in America has a rich and long history. It has undergone reforms through seven notable stages in recorded history. Each of this stage was a reflection of the societal norms and values of the time. These have been seen to have an effect on the way prisoners are treated in the society. It has been recognized that the prisoner should enjoy some form of rights. This realization led to the incorporation of prisoner rights in the bill of rights. This was when the constitution of America was amended. Reference Todd, R. Clear, George, F. Cole & Michael D. Reisig. American Corrections. Houston: Cengage Learning, 2008. Chapters 1-11. Read More