The Caning Punishment Issue Essay, Research Paper

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1/14/97

The Caning Punishment Issue

Reintroducing corporeal punishment would lower the crime rate and give some justice to the victims. There should be a defined level to the punishment and to which crimes it should be dealt. Establishing such laws should also take in to account the growing crime rate and the need to solve this problem.

America broke free from the rule of England because of the injustices they believed were being done to them. One of the things the Americans wanted to break free of was cruel and unusual punishment. It is one of the things that makes our country what it is today for better or worse. A Caning, which can leave the person scarred for life, is a cruel and unusual punishment for repairable damage against private property. Still measures must be taken to stop criminal activity.

A caning for stealing or trying to kill someone would be a reasonable level to introduce corporeal punishment. Men committing such crimes would normally be sent to jail. While not being free is bad, these men really lose nothing but time. The victim should also get the relief of seeing some damage done for his pains. This would be a little bit of vengeance for the victim. As a victim this might not set it right but it would help them feel a little better. This would also make a very big impression on me. If I knew I could get a very bad lashing for doing something wrong, I would not do it. With the growing crime rate some different actions have to be taken. What we are doing now is not working very well. Corporeal punishment seems like a good place to start. It is a deterrent step which we could take without expanding the use of the death penalty.

Corporeal punishment instituted to a limited degree, not to the level they have in Singapore, would lower crime. Singapore has a $316 fine for chewing gum which is wrong and to the extreme for such a small crime. Similar laws in our country would not be possible because they would violate our constitutional rights. Yet, reserved for more serious crimes well define corporeal punishment would help lower our crime rate and help give comfort to the victims of the criminals.