Welfarism Vs Punishment

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Today, we punish criminals through means of either confinement (imprisonment), suspended sentences or a community order. However, in the middle ages, punishment was very different. They used to believe in retribution. This is the idea that punishments should make the criminal pay for what they have done wrong. An eye for an eye. They would have ordeals by fire, water or combat. Ordeal by fire is when the criminal has to hold a glowing hot metal rod. Ordeal by water is when the offender has their hands and feet tied together, they are then thrown into the water and watched to see whether they float or not. The people at this time believed that if they floated, they were innocent, however it was unlikely that any of them floated and the majority …show more content…

This means that as well as being taught the lesson they are needed, they should also receive welfare and the chance of rehabilitation. However, this method of trying to rehabilitate criminals in prison was not very effective since 60% of criminals that were released ended up reoffending. If prisons are spending money on trying to better criminals but the criminals cannot be bettered, it is a waste of money. This is why penal welfarism faced a decline, because it was simply not working. The criminals needed to be punished in a different way, whether it be through deterrence or …show more content…

This means that is they have passed the rehabilitation period with no new convictions, when applying for a job and things of the like, they will not need to disclose any information about their past convictions. The offender will need to serve a custodial sentence (two years for example) and then start their rehabilitation period (4 years for example) as soon as they have completed their sentence. However, criminals with custodial sentences of 4 years and over were not allowed to have the chance of a rehabilitation period. For ex-offenders who can partake in this act, it means they will be given a second chance to fit back into society as a law-abiding citizen and will not have their past convictions help against them for the rest of their lives. It allows these people to start fresh. This has a high chance of giving criminals motivation to stay clean and to not re-offend when they know they have a chance of starting fresh. Criminals are less likely to offend if they know it will benefit them in the