Social Control: Capital Punishment Should Fit Crime

Adilia Mira

CRJU 555

Thinking about Social Control

Many people believe that punishment is the proper way to deter individuals from committing crime. Some theorists argue that punishment should fit the crime. For example, cases in which people run a red light should receive fines or tickets for their violation, whereas individuals who commit severe crimes such as murder or rape should receive life imprisonment or the death penalty. Victims of crime are the main supporters of imprisonment because they believe that incapacitation will leave a criminal unable to commit more crimes. However, victims fail to recognize that criminals have connections outside of prison and can continue committing crimes behind prison. Nonetheless, depending on how

Some individuals attend school and associate themselves with peers who influence them to engage in drugs and violence, which can lead them to commit criminal acts. Some people view violent acts such as physical fighting as a way to express strength, power, and control, leading them to engage in violence and crime. Some children experience violence and crime in their household, which can greatly affect their development into adulthood. Children who experience violence in their lives are more likely to engage in violence. However, other people engage in violence and crime because they feel forced to represent a label that society has imposed on them. For example, some individuals have a criminal past that deprives them from obtaining certain jobs because some positions require a person without a criminal history. In other cases, certain hirers refuse to offer an interview or positions to individuals with a criminal history even if their job description states that criminal history will not affect someone's opportunity for a job. Having a criminal label has the potential to lead individuals to continue to commit crime. Therefore, peer influences and labels are important factors that lead someone to commit

As a child, I suffered physical abuse, and as I grew older, more men tried to abuse me. At seven years old, I witnessed a man beating my mother in our home who claimed he was her friend. However, he brutally attempted to kill my family and me with a gun. These events have led me to despise the man who caused my family and me pain, leading me to believe that he deserves to receive severe punishment such as the death penalty. Due to my experiences as a child, I am unable to accept seeing this man and I working in a rehabilitation program to communicate and learn to forgive the pain he caused us.. Even though researchers and theorists argue that rehabilitation programs are more suitable for assisting criminals to change their devious ways, the anger and pain blind my heart, leading me to desire pain on the man who traumatized my family. I also refuse to accept seeing my offender go through a rehabilitation program instead of receiving a severe punishment. The horrific events I experienced as a child allow me to understand why victims desire their offenders to receive severe punishment. I want the man who hurt my family and I to suffer for the pain he caused us. I believe that punishment should fit the crime. I believe that the man who hurt us suffered as a child and lacked support from his family, which led him to become a criminal. I am