Religion, Crime and Punishment Flashcards
islam on thieves:
As to the thief.. cut of their hands: a punishment by way of example
Christianity on forgiveness:
GOLDEN RULE: do unto others as you would have done to you
forgive not seven times but seventy times
“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, rather that they turn from their ways”
christianity on murder and thievery
thou shall not kill
thou shall not steal
islam on mercy
Be merciful to others and you will have mercy. Forgive others and Allah will forgive you
In the name of God. The Compassionate. The Merciful
islam on death penalty
Take not life, which God had made sacred except by way of justice
Playing God, shirk, God will punish them in hell “whoever kills a believer intentionally, his RECOMPENSE is hell”
arguments FOR prison:
- protects society from dangerous criminals
- time for criminals to reflect on their behaviour
- punishes criminals harshly by taking freedom
arguments AGAINST prison
- costs £60,000 to keep 1 person in prison for a year
- breeds resentment
- young mild offenders meet with serial killers and rapists
- 59% of prisoners who serve an under 12mo time reoffend within aa year of release
- hard to get a job with prison record
- many criminals have mental health issues, they need support not imprisonment
- families of prisoners are financially hopeless
Christian view on prison
Advocates reformation
forgive those who tresspass against us
Elizabeth Fry spread this message
Islam view on prison
Advocates retribution
eg stealing/death penalty quote
As to the thief.. cut off their hand
Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law
arguments FOR community service
- see value in work they do (Eg Wayne Rooney, who had 100 hours of unpaid work decided to continue working in a learning difficulties support centre)
- high vis jackets are embarrassing, people do not want to wear that
- punishment can fit the crime (eg cleaning grafitti)
- less dangerous criminals dont mix with hardened criminals
- can still contact family
arguments AGAINST community service
- Not a deterrent or true reform
- arent enough projects for criminals to participate in
- managing/monitoring of these schemes are often poor (criminals do not fill hours and act badly in public)
arguments FOR corporal punishment
- powerful deterrent
- fulfill aim of retribution
- if done in public, more embarrasing
- does not cost much
arguments AGAINST corporal punishment
- inhumane
- causes hatred and anger
- teaches the use of pain and violence in acceptable
Christian view on Corporal Punishment
goes against “love thy neighbour”
Discipline is necessary for good upbringing
“spares their child the rod” results in bad behaviour
Islam view on corporal punishment
Used frequently in Muslim countries “As for the thief male or female, cut off their hand”
Designed to support Retribution and Deterrence as well as bring about Reform quickly.
arguments FOR capital punishment
- Murderers lose their human rights when taking human life
- great deterrence
- killer who has been executed cant repeat crime
- chance of killing the wrong person is balanced by the benefit of deterring murderers. Utilitarian approach
- satisfies family desire for revenge
- money can be spent on more important things than prison
arguments AGAINST capital punishment
- not always painless eg Lethal injection (Torture)
- keeping prisoners on death row for years is cruel
- No statistic evidence that capital punishment deters murderers
- Canada got rid of the death penalty 1976, crime did not increase
- wrong person can be executed (eg 95 people released from USA Death Row since 1973 as they were wrongly convicted)
- contradicting law
- no chance for criminal to reform
christian view on death penalty
“Thou shall not kill.” (10 Commandments)
“Forgive those who trespass against us.” (Jesus) The death penalty offers no forgiveness.
All life is sacred and God given. No human being has the right to take away life. This is called the sanctity of life.
Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” (Jesus) The death penalty is not loving.
“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”
Muslim view on death penalty
In Islam, the death penalty can be given for two sorts of crime, intentional murder and ‘spreading mischief in the land’. In relation to this second teaching, the death penalty can be given for the following crimes: treason, terrorism, rape, adultery, homosexual activity and speaking against Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. This is under Shariah Law
‘Take not life that God has made sacred except by way of justice’ (Qur’an)
The Prophet Muhammad sentenced people to death for murder. Muslims should follow his example.
Some Muslims might argue against the death penalty as it is playing God – only God gives and takes life. This is the greatest sin of shirk.
Shari’ah law states that a family of a murder victim can accept money from a criminal rather than insist on the death penalty.
Islam forgiveness quotes
Whoever is patient and forgives, that shows determination
Allah will hold everyone accountable for their actions on judgement day
CAUSES OF CRIME
Upbringing – if a person is brought up surrounded by crime or never taught what actions are considered wrong then this may lead them to a life of crime
Mental Illness – a person may struggle to understand right and wrong or not have any sense of consequences. Some may be easily led into crime or have been victims of an abusive upbringing
Poverty – a person may have no job or money and have no other way to survive
Addiction – a person may turn to crime to feed an addiction such as drink, drugs or gambling
Greed – some criminals simply want what others have
Poor education – often linked to poverty as those with few qualifications may struggle to find a job
Opposition to existing laws – some people will break the law as they see it as an unfair law. Sometimes laws have to be broken in order to change them eg Martin Luther King
Why are people evil according to Christianity?
After the fall from grace, human nature is slanted to evil side due to the taint of Adams sin
Lucifer tempts humans
cost to keep someone in prison for a year
£60,000
recidivism rate uk
60% back in prison in 2 years
