There are many causes of punishment; people are punished because of their mistakes or crimes. There are different types of punishments and their purpose is to correct offenders thus making them realize their mistakes. There are different reasons why people get punished for instance a thief can be detained in jail as a way of punishing him/her. People who commit serious mistakes are severely punished for instance killers in some countries are killed or imprisoned all through their lives.
Different offenders obtain different types of punishment. Punishment is used as a way of making people realize their faults. Some people do not think that punishment aims at correcting people; they believe that punishment is evil and no one ought to be punished. Studies show that punishment improves people’s behaviors; people fear punishment and so they strive to behave aptly without violating the law. Nobody likes being in jail but whenever a law is violated there must be consequences (Wangney 566). Some of these consequences include; imprisonment or community service. I believe community service is better than jail.
First, people in jail feel lonely and left out. There are evil people in jail and mostly they take advantage of defenseless individuals. These people make the life of those in prison unbearable. Due to such treatments, some people have died in jail. Offenders doing community services do not die in the process; this is why I believe community service is better than jail. Community service is the act of taking part in voluntary services in society as a way of punishing lawbreakers. This normally entails providing free labor in public works because lawbreakers are held responsible for their offensive behaviors (Johnson 125). In the event of this, lawbreakers learn their lesson even though some do not learn from their mistakes and as a result, they end up in jail after committing serious crimes.
Secondly, Community service is better than being detained in prison because it allows the offender to stay at home and be with his/her family and his/her family can help him/her stay away from trouble (Travis 234). In prison, offenders do not have close people to counsel them, that’s why some continue to commit crimes even when they are detained. Community service can be humiliating because sometimes offenders work in public places; this can, however, help them behave more acceptably in the future. Community service is a good method of punishing lawbreakers because some are not criminals; detaining a person can sometimes be severe (Anderson 281).
In conclusion, committing a crime or breaking the law is punishable by the law. There different ways of punishing offenders; some are detained while others commanded to take part in community services. The consequences of crimes are based on the degree of the crime. All types of punishments are given to correct the offender. The offender is required to follow the judge’s rule without being pushed because law defiance is also punishable by the law.
Community service is the best way that can be used to punish offenders because it molds them into better people in the future and also saves money that can be used to build jails. People should understand that punishment is supposed to correct offenders and not to harm them. Even though some forms of punishment are severe, their purpose is to enable people to realize their faults and change their behaviors.
Works Cited
Anderson, David. “Community Service A Productive Way to Punish.” Sensible Justice: Alternatives to Prison. 1 (2009): 281. Print.
Johnson, Kevin. “To Save Money on Prisons, States Take a Softer Stance.” USA Today. 1 (2009): 125. Print.
Travis, Allan. “Short jail sentence preferable to community service, say prisoners.” The Guardian. 1 (2011): 234. Print.
Wangney, June. “Condemn the Crime, Not the person.” Models for Writers. 1 (2009):566. Print.