Running head: ESSAY 1 - BRINGBACK FLOGGING 1

Essay 1- Bring Back Flogging

Chad LeHew

ECPI College of Technology

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Corporal punishment was once the mainstay for correcting those whom have broken the

law. Why, public beatings and torture was the event to watch. Usually held at the town square on

any given evening, patrons lined up to see those who have wronged them in some way get what

was coming to them. Well, at least that's the way it used to be. In today's Justice system the

primary form of punishment is prison. In Jeff Jacoby's "Bring Back Flogging", he brings to our

attention the problems with modern punishment and asks the question of should we bring back

public whippings and humiliation. Our current form of corporal punishment is flawed and

bringing back flogging could be the answer.

First, the justice system we have in place currently has become very narrow minded.

Prison is the answer for all crimes. As stated by Jacoby (1997),""Imprisonment has become our

penalty of choice for almost every offense in the criminal code. Sell cocaine; go to prison.

Commit murder; go to prison""(p.193). Prisons are so overfilled that many prisoners are

released early to make room for the next guy. Bringing back some form of public punishment

would not only save money and time but could have a better outcome.

Speaking of saving money, Jacoby says, "Many states have gone on prison building

sprees, yet the penal system is busting. Meanwhile the price of keeping criminals in cages is

appalling-a common estimate is 30,000 per inmate per year (para.4-5)." Building prisons is

taking up a lot of our rural farmlands. Land is a precious commodity that the world is running

out of. And for 30,000 dollars a state could flog a hell of a lot of people in public and have better

results for the money. What is the point in locking someone behind bars for something as silly as

not paying child support, and the public paying to support that person for however many years

the sentence dictates?

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Opponents to public flogging and humiliation will say it is too public, too brutal. That

beating people in public will do nothing but make everyone more violent. "But where is it

written that being whipped is more degrading than being caged (Jacoby, p.194)." People are

beaten and raped everyday in the world already. If we were to publicly beat them back maybe

they would see how it feels and think twice the next time they had the urge to do the same. An

eye for an eye, so the bible says.

Now I'm sure as you read this thoughts of cruelty are flowing through your mind. If they

weren't then you are not human. We as a human race have fought back these primal feelings

since the dawn of time. Violent acts will be committed. therefore it is also our job as a civilized

people to find a way to punish or correct such behavior. You can argue the current form of

punishment either works or doesn't. You can also argue that public flogging would work or not.

But Jacoby has a pretty good point by saying, "Perhaps the Puritans were more enlightened than

we think, at least on the subject of punishment. Their sanctions were humiliating and painful, but

quick and cheap. Maybe we should readopt a few (p.194)."

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Reference

Jacoby, Jeff (2011). Bring back flogging. In Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau (Eds.), Critical

Thinking, reading and writing: A brief guide to argument (pp.192-193). Boston, MA:

Bedford 1st. Martian. (original work published 1997).