Sometimes I try to imagine a better punishment for criminals. It's easy to point out the economy, childhood programming, or society as the cause for what they've become, but then there are people who have faced harder economic collapse, terrible childhood programming, and worse society yet lived a decent and purposeful life. This only comes down to one thing: whatever we are comes down to our response to events. It's the path they have chosen to follow with no regard for what the victims feel. They see their own brokenness but forget to see the choices their victims made amidst the crooked society and economy to work and make wealth.
Early this year, a town not far from where I live suffered recurring robbery when they discovered the people who had moved there had assets. This continued every night until one particular night when they killed a young graduate who had just concluded his youth service. He had tried to stop them when his aunty was being abducted, and they shot him, which eventually led to his death. The woman's husband was called and asked to give 10 million. They didn't show any remorse for the life they took but only needed the money, threatening to kill the woman also if the 10 million wasn't provided.
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The husband according to the story, had gotten a contract not long before, which made him rich. From his profits, he decided to build certain investments that suddenly attracted the robbers. He had to sell his house and the eatery he had opened to raise the money. His wife was eventually freed, but it left them with loss and a wound that would take a very long time to heal. While the robbers lived among us celebrating the mischief done, the victims carry the pain and a scar that would forever be there.
Criminals should be punished as much as sent to rehab to correct a mindset that lingers freely in their head. I don't know how effective rehabilitation is, but one thing I know is that it wouldn't instill fear into society to eradicate criminality. Rather, people would feel safe in the soft punishment that follows from being caught. The law punishes criminal acts based on intention and how much damage has been done to the victim, but I'll suggest life imprisonment for whatever criminal offense it is as long as a life is threatened or claimed. When people judge the weight of the punishment against the benefits of what they stand to achieve if successful, the weight of the punishment should carry more burden. This would put fear into people and help them think wisely before acting.
To do anything related to criminality takes adequate planning, which means it doesn't happen in a day. People think through the act before it's done; therefore, the purpose for it shouldn't be justified. If one criminal act can be justified, then the others also have the right to state their reasons. Little pardon in the name of justification for one's acts is what gradually eats up society, because for every one's action, whether good or bad, there's always a reason that looks justifiable to them. So as long as a criminal crime is committed, people should be punished accordingly, regardless of how mild it is. Rehabilitation can follow after punishment but not as a remedy.
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