Crime and Punishment Flashcards
What do Christians say the causes of crime are?
Christians teach that crime is a result of sin as human being are flawed and have rebelled against God
Christians teach that greed causes crime
also, it is a result of evil in the world and the work of the devil
What are the other causes of crime?
economic - poverty leads to crime
social environment:
- drugs/addiction
- anger at the government/authorities
- gang culture/racism
family:
- violence and crime in a family can influence children to commit crimes
- when parents don’t care about what their child is doing it can lead to crime
What are the different aims of punishment?
retribution - Old Testament punishment was described as making justice was done
deterrence from committing more crimes - Romans - fear of punishment should encourage Christians to obey the authorities
protect people from criminals - bible teaches “love your neighbour”
reformation - Christians believe anyone can be changed with God’s love
What are the impacts of imprisonment and community service?
imprisonment:
- stops people from committing more crimes, whilst acting as deterrent
- puts criminals together where they can negatively influence each other
community service:
- helps the community that is affected by the crime
- allows the criminal to do something productive which may lead to reformation
- it isn’t a very good detterent
What are the impacts of fines and probation?
fines:
- money can be used by the Government to help society
- fines are difficult for rich people to pay
- affects family of people who committed the crime
probation:
- warning to first time offenders
- if they step out of line they will be imprisoned
Arguments for and against capital punishment
for:
- permanently removes the worst criminal and a deterrent to those who consider doing a serious crime
- retribution for the affected family
- cheaper than imprisonment
against:
- innocent people could be executed by mistake
- God can only decide on life or death
- breaks the human right to life
