For this week's topic Justice, I want to start with a story I saw in my area two years ago.
A young boy of 19 years stole a phone in our street. People caught him and wanted to beat him. Some were shouting "burn him". Luckily one elder man came and said take him to police station. They took him to police.
When he came back, I expected him to change.....lol, But he became worse. He started following bad boys, smoking, and stealing bigger things. Last time I heard, he was arrested again for burglary.
That boy's story made me ask myself, did prison actually help him? Or did it just punish him?
This brings me to the main question of this contest: When criminals are sent to prison, should the main purpose be rehabilitation or punishment???......Which is better for society? And how about the victims?
I will say it like this, punishment alone cannot help society.
Yes, punishment is needed. I agree 100%. If you do bad thing, you must pay for it. That is fairness. Imagine someone defrauds your mother of her life savings and after one week he is walking freely and saying "I have been rehabilitated". You will be angry. You will feel that there is no justice. The victim needs to see that the law is working. The victim needs closure. So punishment serves the victim and also warns other people that crime has consequence.
But let me ask, after we punish, then what? If we put a man in prison for 5 years, and for those 5 years he just sits down doing nothing, eating small food, sleeping on hard floor, getting beaten, and mixing with hardened criminals, what do you think he will become after 5 years? He will be more dangerous.
This is what is happening in many African prisons. The system is built to punish only. That is why many ex-convicts return to crime.........They come out with no skill, no money, no hope, and society already rejects them. So they go back to what they know, crime.
Rehabilitation is the better way for society in the long run........
Rehabilitation means we still keep the person in prison, we still restrict his freedom which is part of punishment, but we also try to fix the person....... We teach him a tradee like carpentrry, wellding, farmming, commputer, or fashioon. We give him education. We counsel him to know why crime is not good. We help him reconnect with his family.
If we do that, when he finishes his sentence, he has something to do with his life. He will not be idle. He will be useful. Society will benefit. Crime rate will reduce.
I am not saying we should pamper criminals. For heavy crimes like murder, kidnapping, and rape, the punishment must be heavy and long, to protect people and to honor the victims. But even in that long sentence, rehabilitation should still happen. Let the person learn, work, and become remorseful.
What about the feelings of those hurt directly? This is very important. True justice must carry the victim along. That is why I think restorative justice can help. The offender should be made to apologize, to pay back, or to do community service that benefits the victim's family. That way the victim feels involved.
In my own view, the best justice system is 30% punishment and 70% rehabilitation. Punishment for today to satisfy the law and the victim, rehabilitation for tomorrow to save the society.
If we only punish, we create angrier criminals. If we only rehabilitate without strong punishment, victims will feel betrayed. But if we balance well and put rehabilitation as the main purpose, we will have less crime, less crowded prisons, and more reformed citizens.
That is what justice should be, not just to punish yesterday's crime, but to prevent tomorrow's crime.
Image source AI