One of the earlier legal codes called the code of hammurabi

1. One of the earlier legal codes called the Code of
Hammurabi believed in the idea of “an eye for an eye” which
might be considered excessive such as a hand being “hewn off”
(Andrews, 2013) if a child hit their father. However, it also
“rewarded compensation in the event that the perpetrator could
not be identified” (pg. 5) in our country we have our own
corrections system “ corrections is an umbrella term describing
a variety of functions typically carried out by government
agencies” (Ethics of Corrections) Our correctional system is
made up of jails, prisons and other correctional places to help
keep the general public safe from dangerous criminals who have
been arrested or convicted of committing a crime. While many
people might feel that people who are held in correctional
facilities should not have any rights, I am kind of on the fence
about it, because a part of me believes that everyone should be
treated with dignity and respect and the police officers and
correctional officers paid to look after the inmates should
respect the rights of those individuals by not discriminating
against them or using their position to abuse their power. While
on the other hand I feel that if someone is convicted in a court
of law for committing a crime, they should lose their rights.
In this country we currently have five types of punishments
that are recognized they are: deterrence which is meant to not
only deter the offender from wanting to commit another crime
because they are afraid to be punished but to deter others from
wanting to commit a crime as well. Secondly there is
Incapacitation which helps to keep people under house arrest,
jail, prison or another correctional type of facility such as a
half-way house. Additionally, some individuals are given an
opportunity to participate in rehabilitative programs that may be
an alternative to being sentenced, or as a condition of their
release. This may include treatment facilities, vocational or
educational programs. This is all done to lower the recidivism
of these individuals. There is also restitution which means that

2. a person convicted of a crime is responsible for paying their
victims due to harm caused to the victim by the offender.
Lastly, we have retribution which means to punish or reward.
In the criminal justice system that means to make sure that the
punishment meets the crime. I am a strong supporter of
retributive justice. It may seem the obvious choice but from
what I have read and seen this is not always the case, oftentimes
in the media I have read about people being sentenced very
harshly for small petty crimes where others facing more serious
crimes have walked away with a slap of the wrist. For instance,
a couple incidents come to mind, one is of a young African
American male who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for
being accused of selling someone a nickel bag ($5) after being
arrested a couple times for other non-violent drug offenses, yet
a 16-year-old from Texas accused of drunk driving and killing 4
people was initially spared any jail time because his upbringing
and wealthy status would make it difficult for him in prison.
Where is the justice for the family that lost their lives? Or the
rehabilitation options for a young man who needed to sell drugs
to survive. It is situations like this that help shine a light on
our flawed criminal justice system.
Why someone may be more prone to be a criminal offender
or engage in criminal behavior is tied to several different
factors. Such as someone’s economic social status, or an
individual’s environment which may be broken, a lack of
support from parents, peers or school. Additionally, it can
develop simply by choice or following others into a life of
crime. For individuals who suffer from mental health issues it is
the idea that they are looked at by society as being “crazy” and
as a result are portrayed as offenders though often, they are the
victim of violent crimes. For the exception of those that are
arrested or incarcerated for non-drug offenses, or individuals
suffering from a mental health issue or innocent of a crime it is
my opinion that most people are punished for a reason and
depending on the type of crime or the severity of the crime
should determine the type of punishment an individual should

3. receive. For example, some individuals might have to sit in a
holding cell for a couple hours or days, others might need to be
put in jail, which is usually reserved for people who may be
facing misdemeanor charges such as public intoxication, simple
assault or petty theft, for those in need of a more secure setting
a prison which houses violent offenders or repeat offenders for
such crimes as rape and murder is will, they will be placed. I
also feel that as a country every state should follow the same
guidelines when sentencing individuals, the punishment should
fit the crime because currently we have a system that seems to
target certain ethnic groups unfairly which results in more arrest
and incarcerations for black and brown people though whites
commit the same number of offenses if not more. Another thing
that I would like to point out that bothers me is that currently
Thirty-eight states along with the federal government impose
capitol punishment. “what sets capital punishment apart from
all other punishment is its quality of irrevocability”
(Punishments in Corrections) Yes capital punishment may seem
excessive and unnecessary but in my opinion capital punishment
is necessary and should be an option in all states. Especially
for individuals and families who have lost a love one to murder
who may want “an eye for an eye” type of justice but instead
based on where they live find that the only option for the
offender is life in prison.
Given the wide range of functions in the criminal justice system
It is my hope that those in law enforcement or the justice
system will do what is right for the people in this country. I
would also like to see more money put into alternative or
rehabilitation programs, which will help see less people behind
bars.
Flash Reflection One
For Flash Reflection One we were first asked to describe our

4. personal beliefs on when society is justified in punishing an
offender. For me, the answer to this justification has several
stages for several different severities of crime. Capitol crimes
such as murder undoubtedly deserve some form of punishment
as murder is not a typical goal for a healthy member of society
and receiving punishment for a crime of this magnitude would
serve as a deterrence for others from committing such acts
because they know the consequences. This stance on extreme
crimes is similar to the majority of the population as seen in the
“Rationales for Crime and Punishment” YouTube video when it
states: “if we step out if the bounds of the social contract, the
state has the power to punish us for such transgressions. This
should only be done explicitly for the purpose of our collective
protection” where the collective protection part is the key point
here. In a utopia the “correct” answer would be that all crime is
subject to equal punishment as crime itself is a violation of the
social construct to which all members of a society are supposed
to abide by.
However, for me personally I believe that a society is justified
in punishing an offender when someone else has been
reasonably harmed by the actions of an offender. I hold this
stance primarily because of the key word “punishing” in the
context of the original prompt as I believe that punishment
should not be the main focus of the corrections system but
rather rehabilitation should be. Again, in the case of capitol
crimes there needs to be punitive actions yes but in cases like
small property damage from graffiti from a teenager or young
adult I feel that instead of incarceration the better option would
be to attempt to address underlying factors as to why they felt
the need to graffiti on property and how to address such
behavior moving forward so they can learn why that is not
acceptable behavior. Clearly I ascribe to the rehabilitation
rationale for dealing with crime and the goal of punishment in
society but I don’t think of rehabilitation as a punishment in the
same sense as a lengthy incarceration sentence essentially
equivocating to nothing more than a years and years long “time

5. out” similar to what you would do to a toddler for bad behavior
with no change in the behavior and instead a fostered hatred for
those that put you in “time out”.
Despite my own feelings on what the goal of punishment should
be in society, I cannot ignore that the most practical rationale is
incapacitation. I think this is the most practical option because
there are not enough resources to launch full programs to
rehabilitate each and every criminal offender that there ever has
been, and at this point in the corrections system’s lifetime after
extending from a culture of simple incarceration and “throwing
away the key” for criminals back in the days of the inception of
the corrections system it would seem to be extremely hard to
change the current system from a logistical standpoint.