Public_Punishment

Public punishment, is it right or wrong' In many peoples opinion they may find it to be right. “That person did the crime, why not let everyone know what they did. They should have thought about it before they did the crime...” is what some may think when someone speaks of public punishment and it being wrong. But also there is a group that believe that public punishment is wrong. What are the benefits of public punishment' Everyone knows about the crime and everyone knows that the punishment went forth. But, is this really necessary to do' No, this is not necessary. Cultures worldwide have sought to enact justice through public humiliation; however, these punishments are ineffective, embarrassing, and cruel. There was a case that took place in Delaware and a man had 10 prior convictions before this specific one. In Delaware Superior Court Judge Jan R. Jurden ordered that a 69 year old man (Teeter) to wear a shirt that states he is a registered sex offender. Teeter exposed himself repeatedly to a 10 year old girl in his workplace. So, he had to wear a shirt with bold letters that stated “I am a registered sex offender” for 22 months after he gets out of jail. His jail sentence was for 2 months. Jail time was the correct answer, and him not being allowed to be around kids because he had 10 prior convictions before this one. But wearing the shirt, was too crazy and wild for a judge to sentence for that specific case, because most people in today’s society would think of the shirt as being a joke. (“O’Sullivan”) Public punishment is very cruel, and can even be looked at as a way of dehumanization. A way public punishment can be looked at as dehumanizing is by making the person do something that they would not normally do or something they would not normally wear. In the case of Teeter who had to wear a shirt which states “I am a registered sex offender.”(“O’Sullivan”) This takes away this man’s human qualities and identity to dress the way one pleases to dress. It also takes away his personal style, and it makes him conform to the way that one wants him to take. Yes it was wrong what he did, but this is not the correct punishment. Public punishment can make a person depressed. It can change their friends, family, co-workers, and peers view of a person. This can cause depression in the person. By this public punishment it can embarrass a person, which later may lead to depression. But the thing of it is that American want to be accepted, and can not be accepted if public punishment is issued. Once this happen people are looked at as outcast to the community. Teeter who exposed himself to a 10 year old girl, he was later battling depression.(“O’Sullivan”) But, the reality is justice can be served in a private matter, which private punishment can save a person the embarrassment, which may lead to depression. Public punishment is most likely to go the opposite way that the people would think for the public punishment to go. Hester wearing the scarlet letter was suppose to make Hester repent but it made her cold and unholy “…the scarlet letter did not serve it’s office…” (Hawthorne) Really is public punishment the answer' Public punishment being successful is most likely not going to happen because public humiliation is never the answer, all it will do is cause embarrassment which more than likely will lead to depression. Once this happen there is a bigger problem on hand. Is public punishment really necessary for all crimes, really what about small things like adultery' Its adultery if you really thought about it a vast majority of our population would have been issued some sort of public punishment. Although public punishment does not go forth in the United States for adultery, but it do go forth in some parts of the world. In Nigeria there was a woman who was going to get stoned because she committed adultery and gave birth to a child out of wedlock.(Nigerian Court) The reason why public punishment start going forth was because of Puritanical beliefs and ways that was instilled in Americans. They believed certain things you could not do but they belief of this was based on what the Bible said and what was a sin. The Puritans were a very religious group of people. In today’s time some still have the Puritanical beliefs, in some court rooms judge feel the same way. Many judge incorporate what they believe into the way they make their rulings.(Murphy S) But, religion and judges decision making will not change it will remain that way more than likely, just look at the American history. In conclusion, cultures worldwide have sought to enact justice through public humiliation; however, these punishments are ineffective, embarrassing, and cruel. Public punishment should be eliminated from cultures worldwide. There is no need for public punishment. Besides that most of the time public punishment is ineffective. All public punishment is cruel and a legal way of dehumanizing human beings because of something they did wrong, but the reality is that it is not necessary.