Every day we hear news of crimes within our nations. In most countries, crime has increased and the government does not know how to overcome it. Many people have been imprisoned but this does not seem to prevent these criminals from carrying out their evil activities. The question now arises on what needs to be done to control these crimes before they become hard to control. Going by the experience from Muslim countries, the introduction of cutting-off hands of those caught committing crimes would greatly reduce these crimes.
There is a need for the government to introduce tough laws and punishments to help in reducing crimes. In most cases, people who commit crimes are imprisoned for a certain period. Finally, these people are released before they have completed their term due to them appearing to have reformed or due to overcrowding of most of the prisons. This has lead to other people who have the intention of committing crimes not being afraid as they know that they will also be released. Cases have also been reported of those previously arrested resuming their criminal activities. This calls for the government to put in place tough laws that will lead to crime reduction. Cutting of arms has been one of the best laws that have greatly reduced crime incidences in those countries that practice it. To start with, cutting off hands prevents criminals from carrying out their activities, and also it is hard to conduct it on a person who has not been found committing a crime. By cutting criminals’ hands, it creates fear to those others who intended to involve themselves in crimes hence reducing cases of crimes. Most of the criminals who are not mad will think twice before they decide to commit any crime if they realize that their hands will be cut off if caught on crimes (English Baby Par. 3-6). Sentencing people to a life imprisonment does not lead to reduction in crimes. To most of the criminals the life they spend in prisons appears good than the one they spend in criminal life. There they enjoy having a nice accommodation, a bed, three meals a day of which most of them can not get at the expense of the innocent citizens. A person who has committed a murder crime being sentenced for life imprisonment would be very unfair not only to the family members of the killed person but also to the dead person. This has lead to many people committing crimes as they know of the life they will spend in prison. For those countries where criminals know that their actions might lead to them being amputated, they usually have a second thought no matter how they are forced by urge to commit the crime. Many have witnessed their colleagues’ hands being cut and they fear being cut also (Young 1&2).
Some countries have argued that the act of cutting criminals hands proves how the country is uncivilized. For most of them, they believe that there are other methods of controlling crimes other than cutting arms. Unfortunately, crimes in these countries have greatly increased. Such countries for instance have passed laws that ban people form owning riffles. This has not reduced the number of crimes involving guns with most of the criminals owning the guns even with the law barring them. Cutting of arms is not usually executed as revenge but it is aimed at correcting those who engage in unlawful acts. It also acts as favor to the community as the number of crimes is reduced hence reducing their suffering. Despite some people arguing that by amputating criminals, people disrespect their human rights; this is conducted depending with the size of the crimes they have committed. This punishment serves its role by bringing justice to those who fall victims of the criminal gangs as well as in restoring order within the society.
Most people would not like to face such harsh punishment out of their crimes. As a result, they keep away from crimes. Therefore this sentence is said to affect only those people who commit these crimes. One major problem associated with this is controlling crimes committed with family life by criminals who are relatives to the victims. It is argued that most of these criminals conduct their terrible acts out of emotional stress (Jaskaw Par. 1-4). If one is found to have committed a crime he or she is tried and if found guilty, he or she is sentenced to whatever punishment deserved as per his or her crime. By people knowing that on committing crimes their hands will be cut-off they try as much as possible to keep away from these crimes. Sentencing people to imprisonment and later releasing them has been one of the factors that have lead to most countries incapability of controlling crimes. For those countries that do oppose cutting of hands as a good method of reducing crimes, the problem is not that the method is not effective, the problem is that they have not tried it to realize its success. Opposing it without taking action does not help them in any way.
Works cited
English Baby. “Crime and Punishment in Islam”, 2009. Web.
Jaskaw. “Shall we cut off the hands of a thief?” 2009. Web.
Young, Angela S. “Is the death penalty an effective crime deterrent?” 2009. Web.