crime and punishment

Question 1

how do the Ten Commandments impact people’s actions?

Answer 1

• focussed on both action and intention. they were changed in the Sermon on the Mount to include sinful thoughts as well as sinful actions, e.g. ‘you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife or goods’ concerns intention, not action.
• however, some actions aren’t always wrong - occasionally telling a white lie to your parents is not always done with evil intentions, you may be saving their feelings.
• having a central set of rules means that what’s good and bad is clearly laid out. if people were left to make their own decisions, there would be too much ambiguity, and people would be committing crimes not knowing they’re wrong.

Question 2

name some reasons why people commit crimes, and what they may potentially lead to:

Answer 2

• peer pressure: leads to property damage (e.g. vandalism).
• testing society’s and even their parent’s boundaries.
• hate crimes (minorities, council, government): leads to physical violence.
• addiction (e.g. sex addict): leads to rape, sexual abuse.
• poverty, desperation, greed: leads to theft, fraud.
• anger (being provoked) or defence, fear: leads to physical violence.
• mental health issues (due to upbringing): leads to murder, sexual abuse.
• opposition to an unjust law.

Question 3

how do christians and buddhists react to crime due to desperation and poverty?

Answer 3

• welfare is given to people in poverty to help cover their living expenses, however sometimes it’s not given, and this can lead to desperation.
• 13 million people in the uk today are in poverty.
• christians condemn stealing through the ten commandments. however, they are dedicated to ending poverty, so that know one must refer to stealing - they are ready to help those who are in poverty, as much as they can. the parable of the sheep and the goats.
• for buddhists, the 5 moral precepts also condemn stealing. however, through the quality of compassion (karuna) that is greatly emphasised across all branches of Buddhism, Buddhists are compelled to help those in need, in order to gain good karma. also complies with dependent arising.

Question 4

how do christians and buddhists respond to hate crimes?

Answer 4

• 82% of hate crimes in 2011-2012 were related to race in England and Wales.
• Christians don’t support the hatred of anyone. They follow the Golden Rule. They also acknowledge the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, where their thoughts are judged as equally as their actions.
• Buddhists don’t support hatred, as they believe it is a source of dukkha, and also brings suffering to the person who is doing the hating. in addition, Buddhists are against violence, as it goes against one of the 5 Moral Precepts - the entire message of Buddhism is non-violence and peace.

Question 5

how do Christians and Buddhists respond to theft, fraud, or greed?

Answer 5

• personal possessions and wealth are seen as a sign of status. if someone feels inferior to someone else due to possessions, this can lead to theft or fraud.
• in 2016, 53% of people said they had experience with financial fraud or theft.
• Christians follow the 10 commandments, in which they’re told not to ‘covet thy neighbour’s goods’. even craving someone else’s possessions, let alone stealing them is seen as a sin in christianity and frowned upon.
• Buddhists believe that craving (tanha) something that is unattainable leads to suffering - one of the seven unavoidable forms of suffering is ‘unfulfilled desires’. Buddhists believe that tanha leads to rebirth and endless samsara.

Question 6

how do christians and buddhists respond to crimes due to addiction?

Answer 6

• addicts may resort to stealing in order to purchase the drinks/drugs/medication they need. the drug that causes the most crime in the uk is alcohol - drunkards lose their ability to process emotions and actions, leading to violent acts. alcohol is also responsible for many road accidents, as it slows reaction times.
• most Christian denominations don’t forbid alcohol, however for catholics, alcohol is a sin.
• alcohol is an intoxicant, and Buddhists forbid intoxicants that cloud the mind, as it goes against one of the 5 Moral Precepts.

Question 7

how do christians and buddhists respond to crimes committed due to mental illnesses?

Answer 7

• in the uk, 1 in 4 people are affected by a mental illness. suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death.
• Christians don’t have a direct answer to this issue. crimes committed by people with mental illnesses are still sins. however, they offer other Christians the chance to help people in need to overcome their sins.
• Buddhists also believe that crimes committed by people with mental illnesses are still sins. however, they advise mentally ill people to look to dharma for advice on how to overcome their mental illness, and they believe in reformation of criminals, to educate them, and hopefully in the process, relieve the criminal of their mental illness through their education.

Question 8

how do christians and buddhists respond to crimes due to the criminal’s upbringing?

Answer 8

• growing up in a household where crime is the way of life may encourage a person to follow in the footsteps of people they look up to, and eventually drift to crime. parents even sometimes encourage their children to commit crimes.
• for Christians and Buddhists, it’s the job of the parents to raise their child the correct way. a person is responsible for their deeds, but a child is the responsibility of their parent.

Question 9

how do christians and buddhists respond to crimes due to an opposition to an unjust law?

Answer 9

• in the USA in 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for breaking segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat on a bus. this act of defiance became an important symbol of the civil rights movement and led to many other Americans breaking that law.
• Christians would support the idea that law should be fair and have in many cases protested for this. they do not all support breaking the law in order to change it though.
• Buddhists believe that as long as you don’t break any of the 5 moral precepts, they have to opposition to breaking an unjust law.

Question 10

what does the Buddha say about one crime leading to another?

Answer 10

the Buddha says that crimes can lead to another - it begins with small crimes, such as theft, and can escalate to murder. you must fix the root problem - we should step in and help the criminal before it gets worse.

Question 11

do Buddhists believe in condemning the crime or the person?

Answer 11

for a Buddhist, many crimes break the 5 moral precepts. whilst a Buddhist would condemn a crime, they don’t believe in condemning the person. this being said, a person should still be held responsible for their actions.

Question 12

name some ‘soft’ punishments:

Answer 12

• feeling guilty
• forgiveness (they may be moved by the kindness and realise their own mistakes themselves)
• education
• restorative justice (focusses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large)

Question 13

name some ‘reasonable’ punishments:

Answer 13

• community service
• suspended sentences (a judicial punishment which is not enforced unless a further crime is committed during a specific period)
• fines
• driving license points
• repaying the victim/victim’s families

Question 14

name some ‘extreme’ punishments:

Answer 14

• prison
• house arrest
• solitary confinement
• sectioned in a mental hospital

Question 15

what are some aims of punishment?

Answer 15

• to protect other people (make them feel safe)
• to ensure the criminal does not re-offend
• compensation for victim’s families
• to stop others from committing crime (deterrent)
• to hurt criminals, making up for the pain they caused to others (‘an eye for an eye’)

Question 16

describe retribution, one of the three aims of punishment:

Answer 16

• least positive of the 3 aims of punishment
• society, on behalf of the victim, is getting its own back on the offender
• it’s believed that criminals should receive the same injuries and damage that they caused to their victim (‘an eye for an eye’)
• lawful retribution does help to reduce the urge for vengeance on the part of the victim.

Question 17

what are the christian and buddhist responses to retribution?

Answer 17

christian:
they don’t take the teaching of ‘an eye for an eye’ seriously, but interpret it to mean that the offender should receive a punishment sever enough to match the seriousness of their crime.

buddhist:
retribution is a form of violence that contradicts basic ethics. committing violence against the offender doesn’t wipe away the suffering caused by a crime, nor does it encourage the criminal to accept responsibility in order to act better in the future. it instead usually creates bitterness and breeds further violence and crime.
- according to the principle of karma, a person’s unskilful deeds will cause them to suffer. therefore, there’s no need to inflict further suffering on those who have acted badly.

Question 18

describe deterrence, one of the three aims of punishment:

Answer 18

• many believe that if offenders are seen to be punished severely for their wrongdoings, the threat of similar punishment may put off others from committing crimes. the offender themselves may also be deterred in the future if they don’t like the punishment they received.
• many doubt people have been persuaded not to commit murder because they don’t want to spend many years in prison. reasons why people commit serious crimes tend to be more complex than a simple fear of punishment. however, the tactic may work on people committing less serious crimes.

Question 19

what are the christian and buddhist responses to deterrence?

Answer 19

christian:
years ago, in Britain, people were punished in public, for example with floggings and executions. making such an extreme example of offenders in an effort to persuade others to obey the law is not acceptable to many Christians today, who believe every human being should be treated with respect, regardless of what they’ve done.

buddhist:
traditionally, the idea that a person will be reborn in a realm of suffering if they act badly has been a deterrent in buddhism. however, if criminals are in the grip of hatred, greed and delusion, they can lose all rational thought.
- buddhists may agree that it is important to protect society from certain criminals. therefore, they may support putting criminals in prison. however, the motive would not be to punish or even to deter, but to ensure the welfare of society.

Question 20

describe reformation, one of the three aims of punishment:

Answer 20

most christians and buddhists prefer this aim of punishment because it seeks to help offenders by working with them to help them to understand that their behaviour is harming society. it’s hoped that offenders will change their attitudes and become responsible, law-abiding members of society. the offender needs to realise their behaviour is wrong before reformation (e.g. through group therapy sessions, individual counselling and treatment, meeting their victims to realise the harm they may have caused). This’ll rehabilitate the criminal in their own eyes, and in the eyes of society and the victim (s).

Question 21

what are the christian and buddhist responses to reformation?

Answer 21

christian:
the Bible encourages Christians not to seek revenge, but instead to set an example by showing compassion. they respond by working with the offender and helping them turn their life around by showing them their actions’ effects on others. however, this isn’t a replacement for punishment - these sessions would usually occur in a prison.

buddhist:
in Buddhism, a criminal should be encouraged to recognise the suffering they’ve caused, and to apologise to their victims. they’re also encouraged to do some corrective action, e.g. repairing the damage caused by vandalism.

Question 22

describe the case study of Anthony Walker, and how is mother and sister treated the culprit:

Answer 22

• Anthony Walker was a black eighteen year old boy, who was beaten to death with an ice-axe, by two white boys his own age, whom he’d known for years. they shouted racial abuse at him. they were found in a transit van near to an airport, attempting to escape.
• his mother and family were naturally distraught, but after a week of grief, his mother and sister forgave the perpetrators.
• it’s said in the Bible: ‘forgive 70 x 7’
• in the Lord Prayer, it’s mentioned to: ‘forgive us our trespasses’
• they must forgive, otherwise revenge and hatred can be all-consuming.

Question 23

describe the case study of the adulterous woman:

Answer 23

• a group of men were going to stone a woman who had cheated on her husband to death. jesus said: ‘let he who is without sin cast the first stone’
• Jesus is trying to teach that everyone has sinned. therefore what right do people have to commit other people’s sins? only God has the right to judge sinful people, as only God is sin-free.
• the idea is fair, but impractical when it comes to more serious crimes, such as murder.
• the book ‘Leviticus’ includes the Laws of Moses, including stoning those who have done wrong (this is where the men got the idea to stone the woman). Jesus believes that it is outdated, and he modernised it.

Question 24

describe the case study of Elizabeth Fry:

Answer 24

• an educated young woman, who lobbied for equal education rights, and righted women’s prisons which had horrible conditions. people slept on concrete floors, and they excreted in a single bucket in the corner.
• she educated young girls, and set up a team of nurses to reform the healthcare system.
• she claimed that women should run women’s prisons, as only they know what a woman needs. she did this because of a compassionate upbringing, and because her Quaker church preaches that everyone should be treated fairly.

Question 25

describe what Buddhists believe about forgiveness on behalf of the victim:

Answer 25

if someone is a victim of a crime, they can hold onto emotions such as anger and resentment, which would lead to suffering. they must move on and forgive instead. however, forgiveness doesn’t mean the crime is acceptable. the culprit must still realise that what they’ve done is wrong.

Question 26

describe the case study of Anh-Huong Nguyen:

Answer 26

• zen Buddhist from Vietnam.
• spent 10 months in a Malaysian refugee camp before sailing to the USA.
• at the camp she met women and girls who had been raped by pirates.
• she was angry with the men, but through meditation, she understood they were victims of their own upbringings and environments.
• she came to forgive them, by understanding them.

Question 27

why do we use prisons, and what is a ‘panopticon’?

Answer 27

• we use prisons to protect society from somebody’s anti-social behaviour (PROTECTION)
• a ‘panopticon’ (‘pan’ = everything, ‘optic’ = to see’) is designed to watch the cells in a prison - there’s a central tower, surrounded by cells. the cells are transparent, so the prisoners’ every move is watched.
• the idea is that prisoners don’t know if they’re being watched by the tower or not. their behaviour will be modified as a result of this.

Question 28

describe the difference between Category A, B, C, and D prisons:

Answer 28

Cat A:
high security. male prisoners who pose a threat to the public, police or national security.

Cat B:
either local/training prisons. prisoners taken directly from local courts, and training prisons hold long-term and high-security prisoners.

Cat C:
training and resettlement prisons. prisoners develop their skills and find work to settle back into the community on release. (most prisoners come here).

Cat D (open prison):
minimal security, prisoners spend most of the day away to carry out education/work. only houses prisoners who have been risk-assessed and deemed safe for the public.

Question 29

describe the difference between a YOI (young offender’s institute) and Youth Custody:

Answer 29

YOI: houses prisoners between 18 and 21.
Youth Custody: houses young people under 18 who have been remanded (placed in bail or custody) or sentenced to periods of detention by the courts.

Question 30

what prisons are females held in?

Answer 30

females are held in either open or closed conditions, according to their risks and needs. high risk prisoners are recorded as ‘restricted status’, meaning they can only be held in closed conditions. in exceptional cases, females are held in a Cat A prison, in a separate area to the males.

Question 31

what happened to the death penalty in Wales, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland?

Answer 31

the death penalty was abolished in Wales, England and Scotland in 1968, and in Northern Ireland in 1973.
- Parliament still debates whether to bring back the death penalty (they have voted on this matter 4 times since 1970). when this occurs, MPs don’t have to follow a party line - they can have a free vote and express their views.

Question 32

describe the death penalty statistics across the globe:

Answer 32

China puts the most people to death with the death penalty, followed by Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the USA.
- in 2015, 1634 people were put to death across 22 countries - the highest statistic since 1989.

Question 33

what is the difference between retentionists, abolutionists, and retentionists by nature?

Answer 33

• retentionist countries still have the death penalty.
• abolutionist countries have abolished the death penalty (all of Europe, Canada, etc.)
• retentionists by practice admit that they haven’t used the death penalty in years, but it is still legal in their country.

Question 34

what are the 5 different methods of the death penalty?

Answer 34

1. lethal injection.
2. hanging. (in Egypt, hanging is a public spectacle).
3. the electric chair.
4. gassed in a gas chamber. (the preferred method of execution in the USA).
5. firing squad. (popular in China).

Question 35

what are the 5 crimes that end in Death Row?

Answer 35

1. Murder of a police officer of a jail warden.
2. Murder whilst kidnapping, burglary, aggravated sexual assault, arson.
3. Murder during a prison escape.
4. Multiple murders.
5. Murder of an individual under 6 years of age.

Question 36

describe the case of Anders Breivik, and argue for and against the death penalty:

Answer 36

• detonated bombs in Oslo. attacked a political youth camp. worked by himself. killed 77 people. was found guilt, received a twenty year prison sentence.

for D.P.:
- prevents further pre-meditated mass-killing from Breivik.
against D.P.:
-he said in his trial that he wanted to be killed. do not give him what he wants.

Question 37

describe the case of Ian Huntley, and argue for and against the death penalty:

Answer 37

• killed 2 schoolgirls. abused their trust - he was a trusted adult. got a lifetime prison sentence, attempted suicide twice, and had previously raped other underage girls.
• for D.P.:
• stops further incidents, he’s untrustworthy.
• the British public want a harsher prison sentence - provides retribution.
• against D.P.:
• gives him an out from his punishment.
• he’s bullied awfully in prison, due to his high-profile case - why stop that torment?

Question 38

describe the case of Timothy John Evans, and argue for and against the death penalty:

Answer 38

• convicted of murdering his daughter, but he completely denied it. was hanged in 1950. he’d claimed it was his neighbour, John Christie. Christie, after Evans had been hanged, admitted to killing Evans’ daughter, and it was later found that he was a serial killer.
• for D.P.:
• against D.P.:
• the death sentence is too permanent if you sentence the wrong person - there’s no chance to redo, apologise, make things right.

Question 39

describe the case of Charles Watson, and argue for and against the death penalty:

Answer 39

• part of a cult called the Manson Family, which murdered people. he took part in murdering famous people (e.g. wife of a famous movie producer), because he was told to by Mr Manson. in prison, he became a Christian, set up an organisation to help people in prison and to teach them about Jesus. he’s changed many criminals’ attitudes and lives.

for D.P.:
- still killed many people, and so will prevent him from continuing.
- being told to murder by Mr Manson isn’t a good excuse - what else could he do if someone else told him to do another crime?

against D.P.:
- began a life changing Christian organisation, and helped to rehabilitate many criminals - can continue to do good.
- wasn’t entirely his idea to kill - Mr Manson may have been a dangerous man, so he may have felt pressured to kill.

Question 40

what are some Bible quotes that argue the for and against of the Death Penalty?

Answer 40

For: ‘an eye for an eye, a life for a life’
Against:
- only God has the right to kill - we take away some of his power if we kill instead.
- all life is sacred - even that of murderers
- two wrongs don’t make a right.

Question 41

what are some opinions that argue for and against the death penalty?

Answer 41

For: ‘Sparing the lives of even a few prospective victims by deterring their murderers is more important than preserving the lives of convicted murderers.’

Against:
- ‘Thus, for every seven people executed, we have found one person on death row who never should have been executed.’
- ‘The Death Penalty isn’t a deterrent because people who commit murders either don’t expect to be caught or don’t carefully weigh the differences between a possible execution and life in prison before they act.’

Question 42

what are the Christian beliefs on the death penalty?

Answer 42

• ‘You shall not murder’
• ‘Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.’
• ‘Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death’.
• Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made men in his own image.’

Question 43

what are the Buddhist beliefs on the death penalty?

Answer 43

• ‘Abstain from harming living things’
• ‘If a person foolishly does me wrong, I’ll return to him the protection of my boundless love. The more evil that comes from him, the more good goes from me.’
• ‘An action, even if it is brings benefit to oneself, cannot be considered an a good action if it causes physical and mental pain to another being.’

Question 44

describe the James Bulgar case study:

Answer 44

• 2 year old James Bulgar, murdered by two boys, aged 10.
• snatched from mother in shopping centre. tortured by the two boys, died from his injuries.
• in 1993, law stated that a person must be 13 years old or over to have criminal responsibility. after James’ murder, Houses of Parliament changed law and lowered the age to 10 years old so that the two boys could be charged with murder.
• the boys received a life sentence. they were recently released, causing a lot of public outcry. people felt they should be locked up for longer.