Critical and Reflective Thinking
Paragraph: Should our criminal justice system be more punitive or rehabilitative?
I think that our system should be both punitive and rehabilitative. Because with a system that combines the two, punitive and rehabilitative, it will have a better range of punishments fit for different severities of crimes. With a more punitive system, it would be more focused on punishing people, whether or not they are serious crimes. So, you could be punished harshly for doing something as minor as trespassing or impaired driving. With a rehabilitative system, it would focus more on making amends for the wrongdoings. Which is not a bad way to run a justice system, but it just will not always give fair punishment. If the justice system is focused on rehabilitation of the offenders, then someone who has committed a crime like homicide or armed robbery would get a lighter sentence compared to if it was a punitive system. For example, a crime like homicide would only receive jail time and community service or something like that. Instead of receiving a fair punishment for a crime such as taking someone’s life.