I had an interested discussion this morning about the punishment for offenders who take advantage of our children. The topic was brought up with a comment similar to, "You get punished more for stealing a car than for abusing a child."
The debate was whether these offenders are being punished enough.
Do not get me wrong, stealing a car or someone's personal items is a crime. To me, it is more of a crime to hurt, abuse or take away a child's innocence.
What happens after the offender is released? They go to prison for a few years and are released. They are released back into our society. I am not a judge, and can not judge their actions. I just do not want anymore children affected. It is more likely they will hurt another child. They will be tempted to take advantage of children.
There are some offenders who prefer prison life; citing that they do not want hurt another child. They claim to feel this is the only way they are protected from their weaknesses. Why not increase their time in prison?
This will always be a heated discussion. There is no right answer on what to do. We all have are own ideas. I asking a friend he made some interesting points. His comments are below:
“There is no easy solution. Some have family of their own, some do not. However, if they are the sort of person that simply can not be productive for and within society, what purpose does it serve to charge society for this individuals misdeeds? I feel, personally, depending on the severity of the crime that execution may be the answer, expulsion may be another. However, the repeat offenders or "serious" offenders need to be dealt with harshly. Who knows what the proper response should be...but regardless, I honestly think that it harms society just as much to "punish" the just citizens by forcing them to pay for the upkeep of a criminal simply because by letting him free we would be damaging ourselves as well
I know there are different types of abuse and some cases are more severe than other cases; but are not all cases a form of abuse? No matter how much the child is hurt, they are still hurt and affected.
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4 comments:
Just wanted to comment on the following:
I feel, personally, depending on the severity of the crime that execution may be the answer, expulsion may be another. However, the repeat offenders or "serious" offenders need to be dealt with harshly. Who knows what the proper response should be...but regardless, I honestly think that it harms society just as much to "punish" the just citizens by forcing them to pay for the upkeep of a criminal simply because by letting him free we would be damaging ourselves as well
Does it really harm society just as much to pay for a criminal’s punishment in prison? In my opinion, NO, Sure we as a society have to pay financially for a criminals upkeep. But, if he or she is released and then goes back to harming children, does that not hurt society much worse than paying the bill for a criminal to be in prison?
When I child is abused, whether physically, emotionally, sexually, or psychologically. That child loses much more than his or her innocence. That child loses their self-worth, self-respect, blames themselves usually, and many times this leads to self-hatred, drug use, as well as the fact that an abused child has a much higher chance of leading an unproductive life and becoming an abuser themselves.
The solution is indeed a difficult one, but over 80% of abusers return to abusing once they are released from prison. How many more children will be abused from that one abuser? What about the children who were abused that no one found out about? What does that cost society? Maybe execution would be the best solution.
thanks so much from your comments. I really do apprecaite it, and it is a very difficult subject to deal with.
There are more politics than the logical assignment of punishments commensurate to the offenses committed. Those that pass laws don't want to one day become ensnared by the laws they create. I asked a Judge and good friend of mine why anyone would want to be a defense attorney? He said, "80% of those that come before my bench are good people like you and I that made a horrible mistake and more than likely won't re-offend, 15% are pathological and 5% are pure evil."
This explanation helped me understand this situation a little more clearly. We are all human and we all make mistakes. Some mistakes are more harmful than others but that doesn't negate the fact that they are mistakes. Not all mistakes are equal but we need to be careful in assuming that all criminals are evil and deserve the full punishment of the law. Crimes against children are in my opinion the most heinous. But try to see it from the other side. What if you legitimately made a horrible decision? Wouldn't you want a chance to repent and correct your life?
Excellent points, we are all human, and all make mistakes.
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