Rehabilitation V.S.

Retribution
By: LaRissa Martin
Most retributive justice systems are based upon the basic consequentialist
premise. That is severity of punishment, must be in proportion to that of the crime
committed. Such that the offender is obliged to suffer some penalty or forfeit some
benefit in order to make recompense for the infraction. This is found from the ethical
aphorism Let the punishment fit the crime a statement most cultures have in common.
Some countries have experimented with what I think to be more extreme
retributive legal systems. For example, some U.S. States have controversially enacted a
three-strikes legal approach, in which longer prison sentences are imposed upon repeat
offenders. This approach has been variously implemented and, statistically, has had
varying degrees of success in terms of reductions in crime in those states, which have
incorporated this approach. I aim to argue that this system can never truly satisfy some
moral and ethical imperatives because they very purpose of such a system. Punish
criminals rather than helping them to reform the offender's character, is fundamentally
flawed. Alternative means should be preferred: rehabilitation.
However, I fully acknowledge that elements of the practicalities and philosophical
of rehabilitation in the U.K.'s prison system have attracted much scepticism amongst
both academics and professionals working in prisons. The U.K.'s rehabilitative
processes are very much out-of-step with the rest of Europe. Particularly with regard to
such issues as the lowest age of criminal responsibility, and it's approach to the
detention of those under 18 years of age. In my view, it is the scepticism above that has
assisted in the disappointing erosion of the prioritization of rehabilitation as a primary
function of the prison system in the U.K.
Rehabilitation, in my view is the most humanitarian method of dealing with
criminals. It can be easily argued that the degree of civilization of a country is most
clearly demonstrated by the compassionate manner in which it treats its prisoners. As
the result of a well organized rehabilitation program prisoners will want to improve their
life to be better off in the long run. A prisoners attitude is also likely to be positively
affected if the purpose of a justice system is seen to be that of facilitating positive
change rather than to administer punishment.