In 1994 Michael Fay, a teenager arrested for vandalism was sentenced to the corporal punishment of caning, a punishment that attracted international attention for its nature. The caning of this young man can be considered torture, a punishment that holds no educational value and is a violation of his rights as a person. The New York Times editorial “Time to Assert American Values” and the article “U.S Student Tells of Pain Of His Caning In Singapore”, also from The New York Times, correctly opposed and described the horrendous consequences and nature of caning. Alejandro Reyes’ article “Rough Justice” is also correct in representing the effects of the Singaporean justice system but it price comes with the government’s ability to violate and …show more content…
oppress people. Caning is a corporal punishment that holds no value in this modern era, a punishment that should only be part of history, not a punishment that should be implemented in a civilized society. The physical and psychological damage that results from this punishment does not hold an educational value or has a significance in the mentality of the one receiving the punishment.
The article “U.S Student Tells of Pain Of His Caning In Singapore”, contains Michael Fay’s description of the pain and “the bleeding it caused “which he describes as a “bloody nose”. The concept of making someone bleed for their mistakes is barbaric and does not teach “order”, it only results in fear and mental trauma. Another example is Michael Fay’s description of the shiver he feels down his back every time he looked at the scars, scars that he could have permanently and could become the triggers to revive his horrible and inhuman experience. The editorial “Time to Assert American Values” reminds it readers of their American roots, which are all about individual rights, which are being violated for the “justice system”. Michael Fay was sentenced for vandalism in Singapore and his sentence included a violation of his physical and mental self and a violation of his rights as a person, so the principal question should be; is this …show more content…
Justice? A justice system should be used to uphold the law and punish those who violate it and harm others, not a system of oppression and a form to violate human rights.
The editorial from New York Times elaborates on the concept that basically rules the Singaporean justice system which is based on the assumption that the good of the society is above the individual rights and liberties. According to “Rough Justice” this concept of justice is enough to sentence someone to death without concrete evidence, and it works for them since their crime rates are 175 per 10,000 people but the price to pay for this welfare security is the violations of human rights and the oppression of opinions that can oppose the current government. “Rough Justice” also states that Singapore’s justice system forgives a first-time offense, however, Michael Fay had a clean record and he still got a corporal punishment sentence. Many people would like to ignore the political implications of this, which is simply that the Singapore government did it to attract attention and start an argument on which justice system is more effective, in this case, Michael Fay was just a tool. This political move affected Michael Fay’s future as he will always remember the pain and humiliation to his
self. In 1994, Michael Fay was sentenced to corporal punishment in Singapore while other might say his sentence is fitted to the crime it does not change its torturous nature and its physiological consequences. A system that is supposed to protect is not supposed to traumatize a teenager and possibly damage his future. These corporal punishments are meant to control society based on fear and oppress the opinions of those who are against the current government. All over the world, people are suffering injustices and are being silenced without the opportunity to fight for their rights. For this reason, when cases like this one come to light, we, as people, not Americans, must fight for those who don’t have a voice of their own. When this happens again, we must take action like a protest, make petitions and fight for those who deserve it.
"I shall show you what happens to people who defy the laws of the land! In the tribunal everybody is equal, here there is no regard for rank or position. The great torture shall be applied to you!" (194)
The Punishment Imperative, a book based on the transition from a time when punishment was thought to be necessarily harsh to a time where reform in the prion system is needed, explains the reasons why the grand social experiment of severe punishment did not work. The authors of the book, Todd R. Clear and Natasha A. Frost, strongly argue that the previous mindset of harsh punishment has been replaced due to political shifts, firsthand evidence, and spending issues within the government. Clear and Frost successfully assert their argument throughout the book using quantitative and qualitative information spanning from government policies to the reintegration of previous convicts into society.
He suggests flogging, but he gives no evidence as to why flogging would be more effective. Since Jacoby does not consider any other alternatives to prison such as community service, loss of privileges, or in extreme cases, exile, his argument that flogging is the best alternative is unconvincing to the reader. Also, he fails to define flogging or give proof that physical punishment would lower the high crime rate in the United States. Thus, while his article raises compelling concerns about the American prison system, Jeff Jacoby fails to persuade his audience that flogging is the best alternative to
A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of its business, cannot help making celebrities of the people who would destroy it. Unfortunately, such acts of rampage have become a prevalent factor in the Canadian culture. As a result of endless media coverage, Canadians now are constantly bombarded with numerous images of violence. Many of which often portray a victim avenging their opponent by means of force. Thus, indoctrinating a nation of individuals to believe that it is only through aggression that problems can be resolved. Rather than being punished for acts of violence, those who commit such offenses are often praised for their “heroism”. In addition, the success of films like The Godfather, Gladiator, and Troy further aid in reinstating the fact that we live in a society that praises violence. Furthermore, this ideology allows for individuals to partake in violent acts with little or no backlash from ones community. However, when an individual strays away from the “norm”, they are likely to then be viewed as a deviant. Such cases of rejection within a society, are often seen in the portrayal of serial killers. Although our society tends to condone violence when it is directed towards a specific individual(s), it does not allow the killing of innocent bystanders. Instead, crimes that are targeted against a number of people over a long period of time, entail the harshest forms punishments under the law. Sadly, in executing the law for said crimes, those in charge often face much public scrutiny. Such occurrences were apparent in the faulty murder investigations of Canada's most notorious serial killer Robert Pickton. This is due to the ...
Every civilized society makes laws that protect its values, and the society expects every single citizen to obey these laws. Whenever a citizen of a certain society breaks one of these laws, the rulers of the society dish out punishments they dim fit for the kind of crime committed. With this kind of justice system in place, criminals are either locked up in prison cells, whipped, or exiled from the society. In the essay, “Bring Back Flogging”, columnist Jeff Jacoby argues that flogging is much more superior to imprisonment and should be brought back as a method of punishing crime offenders like the Puritans did in the past. He is convinced that the shame associated with flogging would prevent offenders from going into crime professionally. Jacoby believes that whipping criminals has more educational value compared to locking them up in cells and that it saves a lot of money. Throughout the essay Jacoby attempts to build ethos even though it fell apart due to misconceptions. He relied mostly on the use of pathos by appealing to his reader’s emotions and using this as a base ground for his logos.
Whenever an author is creating an argument, they must appeal to whatever grabs his or her selected audience’s attention. When given the topic of Michael Fay, an 18 year old American citizen who was punished in Singapore for vandalism by being caned, two sources appealed to their audience in two contrasting ways. In “Time to Assert American Values,” published by The New York Times, the author tries to capture his or her audience by stirring up emotion. In “Rough Justice: A Caning in Singapore Stirs up a Fierce Debate about Crime and Punishment,” Alejandro Reyes presents factual evidence throughout the entire article to support his claims. After carefully analyzing both texts, it is apparent that Alejandro Reyes gives a more convincing and sufficient argument due to his use of indisputable facts.
In “Bring Back Flogging”, Jeff Jacoby argues why the current criminal justice system in America is not effective or successful. As a solution, he suggests that America should bring back the old fashioned form of punishment once used by the puritans, flogging, as an alternative to imprisonment (198). This article originally appeared in the op-ed section of the Boston Globe newspaper. Therefore, the primary audience of this article is people who want to read arguments about controversial topics and have probably read some of his other articles. His argument that the current criminal justice system is not working is extremely convincing. He appeals to pathos and uses statistics to prove that thesis and to persuade the audience.
Jacoby has been with the Boston Globe since 1987 as a columnist, and has received the following awards: the Breindel Prize in 1999, and the Thomas Paine Award in 2004. Before he worked for the Boston Globe he briefly practiced law and was a commentator for WBUR-FM. Based on this information, it shows that he not only does his research on the history of flogging and how it could be beneficial, but shows that he has knowledge regarding the topic. He also, throughout the essay, explains how corporal punishment can be effective because the lack of efficiency that incarcerating criminals shows. He addresses the opposition that corporal punishment is a faster and more cost effective process but backs up his argument using information about the amount of crime committed in jails too.
Humanity instructs us that we must behave with tolerance and respect towards all. Just Mercy exemplifies how that is not the case for many Americans. Critical Race Theory is a theory which focuses on the experiences of people who are minorities. It argues that people who are minorities in the United States are oppressed and, because of the state of being oppressed, creates fundamental disadvantages (Lecture 4.7). A study conducted for the case McCleskey v. Kemp revealed that when a black defendant killed a white victim, it increased the likelihood the black defendant would receive the death penalty (Stevenson, 2014). Looking at this fact through the lens of a critical race theorist, it illustrates how unconscious racism is ignored by our legal system. The actuality that, statistically, people of color have a higher chance of getting sentenced to death than white people is a blatant example of inequality. In Chapter 8, Stevenson discusses the case of multiple juveniles who were incarcerated and sentenced to death in prison. These juveniles who were sent to adult prisons, where juveniles are five times more likely to be the victims of sexual assault, show an innate inequality towards minors (Stevenson, 2014). Ian Manuel, George Stinney, and Antonio Nunez were all only fourteen-years-old when they were condemned to die in prison. Although they did commit crimes, the purpose of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate young offenders. Trying juveniles in adult court represents a prejudice against age, which Stevenson sought to fight by working on appeals for Manuel and Nunez (Stevenson, 2014). His humanity shines through once again, as he combats the justice system to give the adolescents another chance at life, rather than having them die in prison. The way prisoners with mental and/or physical disabilities are treated while incarcerated is also extremely
VonHofer, H. and R. Marvin. Imprisonment Today and Tomorrow: International perspectives. The Hague, The Neatherlands: Kluwer Law International, 2001. Print.
In order for one to understand the criminal justice system, it is important to study both the criminal law of one’s own country as well as surrounding countries. By engaging in comparative criminal justice studies, one can expand this knowledge through the discovery of similarities and differences in the structure of criminal justice agencies of various nations or states. There are a multitude of factors which could contribute to the differences in each nation’s criminal justice system. By studying the ways in which other countries operate their criminal justice system, it may be possible to learn ways in which we could better our own system. In order to do this, we can study the ways in which various court systems operate around the world. In doing so, we will examine countries with both a different and similar judicial system to ours and discover the differences in how each operates. In furtherance of understanding the criminal justice system, we will
Very few are lucky enough to shake free of this vicious clutch. On October 25, 2013, three women (69-year-old Malaysian woman, a 57-year-old Irish woman, and the 30-year-old British woman.) from were about to escape 73-year-old Aravindan Balakrishnan and his 67-year-old wife Chanda’s wrath after 30 years. They were described as “deeply traumatized” after they suffered through the ordeal of abuse and isolation. What little freedoms they had led one of the victims to watch a movie on forced violence, which gave out the number of non-profit Freedom Charity, an organization that dedicated themselves to contacting the police after gaining the women’s trust. Later details of the story report that the three women were apart of a left wing...
He argues that the only punishment possibly equivalent to death, the amount of inflicted harm, is death. Death is qualitatively different from any kind of life, so no substitute could be found that would equal death(6). The down side of the retributive system of just can be observed in our modern practices of zero tolerance laws. These laws have placed values of some wrongdoings so high that punishment for relatively minor offenses can see an offender detained for substantially longer than arguably needed to repay the harm they caused. Placing a grater demand on our prison facilities and creates a circle of offense and
Koch, L.W., Wark, C., Galliher, J.F. (2012). The death of the American death penalty. Lebanon, NH: Northeastern University Press.
My sentence has been put into place as an individual punishment based upon my actions, yet there is so much more to it than that. Several perceptions towards how and why a criminal should be punished have been acknowledged over the years. Today, there are t...