Rehabilitation v. Punishment in Criminal Justice

Is rehabilitation more effective than punishment in criminal justice systems?

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This is a blog purely based on option and not fact.

The idea of punishment in the United States justice system is to punish a wrongdoer and to "scare" others into not committing crimes in fear of being convicted, and punished. In fact, as covered in my death penalty blog, the overall idea of the death penalty was to put fear into others along with punishing the act committed.

This idea has existed forever and this punishment has been given out  However, there is an essential issue with this: it has not worked. To this day many still commit crimes that are punishable by death, and while punishments may have provided some reduction, it has not been enough. 

Rehabilitation is not effective either, and is not as widely known as other crimes. As the Office of Justice Programs explains 

“rehabilitative, involves redefining the prison and parole systems. Prisons should be places where confinement is not "easy time," and parole should be a period of intense supervision and rehabilitative programming….Rehabilitation programs, conducted in the parolee's community, would provide an opportunity for the parolee to be self-supporting”

In short, a rehabilitation program aims to supervise and help an inmate to ‘fix themselves’ or the issue that caused the crime, for those often viewed as mentally ‘unstable’. Rehabilitation is not intended to be a leisure experience, rather a prison-like experience. This is not effective either, all rehabilitation does is calm the crime is not scarring nor negating any future crimes. 

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Rather, it promotes the idea that if one can convince a jury that they are eligible, they will get a moderate punishment for a serious crime. Further, a criminal mind won't be affected by simple rehabilitation. While I do believe no one is inherently bad, one who has committed a heinous crime with mens rea will continue to do so if they will. While being in prison is an experience and a rehabilitation program is similar, it is not indeed to be as severe. Thus, rehabilitation does not work.

Modern day jail time does protect the public and well as punish an offender, but does not stop offenders from committing more crimes(unless sentenced to life) and does not effectively warn the public as crimes are still being committed at reasonable rates. The issue does not lie in the hands of punishments, rather the problem is how the punishment is perceived in the eyes of others. Neither rehabilitation nor jail time is effective, as has been proven. While it may be a pessimistic view, it is a realistic one. Our system does not call for a reform, the justice system does not either, simply an edit in how it is perceived must be taken out.

While the current justice system does not work perfectly, it does work. That is what is important. Modern day laws protect cruel punishment that in the past was effective, but a downright cruel way of carrying out justice. Crime will never stop, no matter how cruel a punishment. Justice in our system can continue to be served, in a system that exists for the people it will be held up and continued by the people.