Deterrence Philosophy Essay

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Any undesirable behavior deserves a punishment to prevent the person from further misconduct. The main aim of punishment is to minimize the capacity of a person to break the law. People get punished through different ways, for instance, they are charged a certain amount, being jailed for a certain period of time or undergo death sentence. Types of philosophies include deterrence, rehabilitation, incapacitation, retribution, and restoration.
Deterrence philosophy tries to persuade people to avoid crimes or go against the laws. Deterrence philosophy is categorized into specific general and general deterrence. Specific deterrence involves punishing one for committing a crime and decides not to commit any crime in the future while general deterrence …show more content…

The aim of rehabilitation is to bring back an offender found guilty of committing a crime to a productive position in society through education, counseling, and training. Rehabilitation avoids future crime by changing a defendant's behavior. Through rehabilitation, defendants gain skills and knowledge which help them in earning their living and can be useful to the community when released from court.
Incapacitation involves avoiding crimes by segregating offenders from the rest of society. Punishments such as death penalty, house arrest, and imprisonment have been used as means of incapacitation. Other methods like work programs and placement in halfway are meant to retain community link and make it simple in the adjustment from prison to normal life.
Through retribution, offenders are punished by getting rid of the advantages they gain from committing crimes. Retribution does not punish people who cannot be held responsible for their actions; a good example is people with mental disorders who are not even aware that they are in the wrong. Compulsory sentences state that people who commit particular types of crimes should be punished equally. On the other side, determinate sentencing dictates that certain punishment should be administered based on the seriousness of the offense and also the past record of that particular

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