Crime and Punishments Study Notes

Types of Crime

• Hate crime: targeted against a minority group.

• Murder: killing someone.

• Theft: taking what isn’t yours.

Evaluating a Crime

• Scale: shoplifting vs. grand theft auto (GTA).

• Religious/government law: does it break any?

• Harm: does it harm or end a person’s life?

Views on Crime

• Hate crime:

  • Sinful to hurt anyone (Humanist + Christian).

  • Scripture: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

• Theft:

  • Taking what’s not yours is wrong, rooted in envy (Christianity).

  • Scripture: “Do not covet” / “Thou shall not steal” (✝ + 🔯).

• Murder:

  • Human life is sacred (Humanitarian).

  • God made human life, should be cared for (Islam + Christianity).

  • Scripture: “Thou shall not kill” (✝); “Whoever kills an innocent man, it is as if he has killed all of humanity” (☪).

Reasons for Crime

• Greed.

• Hate.

• Poverty/desperation.

• Justice; opposition to an unjust law.

• Mental illness.

• Addiction.

• Bad upbringing.

Reactions to Reasons for Crime & Scripture

• Greed: should be punished. "Do not covet", don’t envy what others have and “Do not steal”.

• Poverty: should be helped AND punished. "Thou shall not steal" BUT “whoever oppresses a poor man insults his maker”.

• Addiction: should be punished. Drunkenness is a sin and harming others is also a sin.

• Upbringing: should be punished. “He who spares the rod from his children hates them”.

• Opposition to unjust law: If justified, shouldn’t be punished. “An unjust law is no law at all.”, St Augustine

• Hate: should be punished. “love your enemies”, “turn your left cheek”.

• Mental illness: should be punished. “Heal the sick” , Matthew

• Muslim views: There is never a justification for committing crimes.

Forgiveness

• Letting go of bad feelings instead of punishing.

• Optional for most, but not in all religions.

• Christianity:

  • If you forgive others, God will forgive you. “Forgive others, as the Lord forgave you”.

  • Shouldn’t be limited. “Not 7 times but 77 times”.

  • One unforgivable sin: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

• Islam:

  • Not mandatory.

  • Victims can choose.

  • Some crimes unforgivable in Allah’s eyes (Hadud).

• Judaism:

  • Encouraged but not compulsory.

  • God forgives sins against Him; humans forgive sins against them.

  • Yom Kippur: ask forgiveness.

Death Penalty (Capital Punishment)

• Focuses on retribution.

• Saves money in prison costs.

• Protects civilians.

• Doesn’t deter people.

• May cause tragedy if wrongfully accused.

• High cost due to years on death row.

• Principle of Utility: good because it causes less pain.

• Sanctity of Life: all life is valuable.

Religious Views on Death Penalty

• Christianity:

  • Old Testament supports it.

  • Jesus taught forgiveness + reformation.

• Islam:

  • Shar’iah Law supports it (for unforgivable crimes, Hadud).

  • Modern Muslims: out of date and inhumane.

• Judaism:

  • Allowed in theory.

  • Many oppose in theory and practice.

  • "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed."

  • Romans “Do not take life, which Allah has made sacred, except in the way of justice and in the law"

  • Quran “Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world”

  • Torah

Aims of Punishment

• Reformation: changing character.

• Protection: keeps public safe.

• Deterrence: sets an example.

• Upholding the law: shows consequences.

• Reparations: making up for wrong.

• Retribution: revenge.

• MAIN: reformation, retribution, and deterrence.

• Views:

  • Reformation: some see as a waste of time.

  • Retribution: supported in Old Testament (“an eye for an eye…”); doesn’t fit New Testament beliefs.

  • Protection: keeps criminal away from angry public.

  • Reparation: victims can benefit.

  • Deterrence: creates safer society.

Good and Evil Intentions

• Evil: opposite of good.

• Why have laws?

  • Protect human rights.

  • Prevent moral anarchy.

  • Organize behavior.

  • Give justice.

  • Protect innocent.

  • Suppress people (government control).

  • Prevent fear.

  • Enable work without theft.

• Evil Acts vs. Evil People

  • Evil acts exist (cause harm intentionally).

  • Evil people debatable: some say yes (consistently do evil); others say no (everyone does both).

  • Christians: “hate the sin, not the sinner."

• Good + Bad Intentions

  • Good actions: cause positive things.

  • Bad actions: cause suffering.

• Christians: humans make mistakes, should be forgiven but punished.

• Basis of good and evil: Bible. Some things, such as adultery, isn’t against the law.

• Judges judge based on the consequences, 🌷 God judges on consequences and intentions !

Suffering

• Christians: from the fall of man, inevitable.

• Buddhists: inevitable, part of samsara.

• Types:

  • Natural: natural disasters, death.

  • Moral: misuse of freewill.

• When is it okay to cause suffering?

  • Self-defense.

  • Saving someone at another’s expense.

  • Causing suffering now to prevent larger amount later.

Treatments of Criminals

• Corporal punishment (physical).

  • Focuses on retribution and deterrence.

  • Illegal in the UK (violation of human rights).

  • Legal in places like Iran (Shar’iah Law).

  • Christians: may oppose (dislike harming people) but some believe it’s okay as a form of showing love "He who spares their children the rod, hates them”.

  • Muslims: believe in Shar’iah law which permits corporal punishment in many cases “The woman or man found guilty of sexual intercourse - lash each one of them with a hundred lashes” Quran 24;2

• Community service.

  • Making criminals do work that benefit the community.

  • Focuses on reformation and reparations.

  • Often preferable to prison.

• Prison.

  • Creating a lack of freedom for prisoners/criminals.

  • Only limited space + it is expensive

  • Respects human rights of prisoners however does not do enough to reform prisoners