Purposes of punishment

• Retribution


  Punishments carried out to make the offender suffer and pay for what's been done
• In Scotland, the harshest punishment which can be set is a whole life order, however this has never happened in Scotland and the longest prison sentence served to date has been 37 years
• Judge


  Decides the length of a prison sentence
• Many think that revenge is a good reason for punishment


  It demonstrates courage and the ability to defend yourself, and it can create immediate satisfaction for the person who has been wronged
• Where does revenge end? Will it be a never-ending cycle?
• By taking revenge


  It can lead to many negative implications such as people will constantly take revenge on one another, it can leave an emotional impact such as anger, resentment and hostility
• Revenge also won't achieve the desired outcome and nobody will feel closure
• Mahatma Gandhi: '"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."'
• Humanists


  Wary of retribution, reject the idea that the purpose of punishment is to make offenders suffer because they 'deserve it'
• Humanist approach to punishment


  Deterrence of further crime, protection of the public, and reformation of criminals
• Humanists would always ask themselves if their proposed punishment is actually effective
• Even a harsh punishment won't act as a deterrent if a criminal is not thinking of the consequences
• Locking away murderers to protect people seems sensible
• Offenders are statistically more likely to commit further crimes after they are released from prison
• Protection


  Some forms of punishment are designed to protect society from crime, usually through prison
• The removal of the criminal from society protects the public from repeat offences
• The offender is protected from themselves, either hurting themselves or committing another crime
• The prisoner may not be reformed and could re-offend on release
• Some criminals may enter prison for minor offences and come out a hardened criminal due to the 'college of crime' and commit more serious crime as prison can make offenders angry and want revenge
• Many criminals are uneducated - as a society we have a responsibility to educate and protect the weak and provide mental health care for those in need
• Humanists


  Believe that understanding the problem of crime is essential to solving it, trust evidence and the scientific method to figure out how to reduce crime
• Seeing people punished for a crime should put people off from doing the same crime and having been punished before you should be deterred from doing the crime again
• It doesn't come after the crime but before it, and so stops the crime taking place
• Offenders don't usually stop to think carefully through the rights and wrongs of their actions
• Humanist Society Scotland


  Humanists do not agree that the purpose of punishment is to make offenders suffer because they 'deserve it', instead they believe that deterrence of further crime, protection of the public, and reformation of criminals are more productive approaches
• Humanists encourage people to campaign and challenge unfair laws