Criminals should pay for their crime in proportion to the severity of the crime they have committed.
Deterrence
Many people think that very severe punishments put people off (deter) them from committing crimes e.g. if a person knows they will lose their own life if they murder someone.
Reform
Punishment should aim to help criminals to change so that they do not commit crimes again. Criminals should be rehabilitated.
Protection
Society itself needs to be protected from people who commit crimes. Putting people in prison protects the rest of society from their behaviour.
Against Deterrence
- People don’t stop and think before they commit a crime especially if drugs or alcohol are involved.
- In the UK nearly half of all prisoners commit crime again after they are released.
Against Retribution
- Victims of crime often feel that the criminal has not been punished enough, so they do not feel a sense of justice having been done.
- In very severe crimes such as murder some would argue that retribution cannot be fully achieved.
Against Reform
- Not enough of a punishment, teaching and educating criminals is not punishing them.