Religious attitudes to crime and punishment Flashcards
1
Q
Religious attitudes to law and order (4)
A
- Citizens have a duty and responsibility to be law-abiding or otherwise there would be chaos, as people would do exactly what they wanted without considering others.
- The ten commandments, and the 613 rules in the Old Testament (one of the first legal codes) was seen as coming from God
- ‘An eye for an eye’ (Exodus)
- ‘If your brother sins, rebuke (disapprove/criticise) him and if he repents, forgive him’ (Luke)
2
Q
How conscience affects our behaviour (2)
A
- Many religions teach that God has given each person an inner voice that informs them of the rightness or wrongness of an action before it is carried out.
- St Paul says that we know what is right and wrong before we learn about the law
3
Q
Why (religious) people commit crimes (5)
A
- Lack of education and qualifications
- Abusive and violent parents/broken homes
- Drug, gambling or alcohol addiction
- Periods of high unemployment
- Gang rivalry
4
Q
What different types of crime there are, including examples of each (4)
A
- Crime against the person (crime is directed against an individual/group of people) e.g. murder
- Crimes against the state (a country) e.g. selling military documents
- Crimes against property (taking/damaging somebody else’s belongings) e.g. burglary
- an offence against religion. They may or may not be classified as crime. Religions have their own sets of laws and rules and breaking them would be seen by members of that faith as a religious offence or sin (breaking of a religious or moral law) e.g. for Christians and Jews, the 10th Commandment says ‘You shall not covet (desire) your neighbour’s house/wife/servant/ox or donkey or anything else that belongs to your neighbour’. This is not a criminal offence,
5
Q
Why we punish people – the different aims of punishment (6)
A
- Protection – The aim of protection is to keep the public from being harmed, threatened or injured by criminals
- Retribution – is seen as ‘getting even’ (‘an eye for an eye’ - Exodus) with the criminal. It is getting revenge and giving the criminal what they deserve.
- Deterrence - the aim of this is to put people off committing crimes (if they believe they will be dealt with seriously if caught)
- Reformation – the aim of this is to change a criminal’s behaviour for the better e.g. through a face to face meeting with the victim
- Vindication – the aim of this is to show offenders that the law is right and that they must be punished if they do not respect it
- Reparation – the aim of this is to ask the offender to make up for the crime they have committed e.g. vandal cleaning up an area
6
Q
How young offenders are treated (6)
A
- In Britain, anyone under 18 who has broken the law is classified as a young offender.
- For Minor offences - ASBOs or child safety orders.
- More serious offences are heard in a youth court (part of the Magistrate’s Court dealing with under 18s).
- Secure training centres are purpose built centres for young offenders and they have a focus on education and rehabilitation
- Secure children’s homes are run by the local authority social services department and focus on attending to the physical, emotional and behavioural needs of the young people they accommodate
- Young offender institutions are run by the Prison Service and accommodate 15 to 21 year olds. Those under 18 are held in separate juvenile wings
7
Q
How young offenders should be treated (2)
A
- Some think that because they are not yet grown up and their consciences aren’t fully developed, they should be treated with more compassion and care
- Some think that even young children know exactly what they are doing and so should be treated no differently to adults.
8
Q
How prisoners should be treated (4)
A
- All major religions accept the need for prisons.
- It is seen as necessary to deprive offenders of their freedom and prevent them continuing a life of crime.
- Religions support the idea of seeking to reform offenders, so that on release they become responsible and law-abiding members of society. They support the idea of constructive work and education, so that inmates can learn worthwhile skills. They also support medical programmes to help prisoners overcome drug or alcohol addiction.
- Christians have been actively involved in prison reform (making sure that prisoners are treated humanely). Buddhist, Muslim and Christian chaplains regularly visit inmates and help prisoners’ families. Christians may be influenced by the parable of the lost sheep?
9
Q
The advantages of life imprisonment (4)
A
- To protect society from dangerous and violent criminals/ Prison stops people reoffending because they are locked away
- Prison acts as a deterrent to others and ensures that the law is respected (vindication)
- It gives offenders a chance to reflect on their actions and decide to change
- To isolate those who deserve such punishment from their family and friends (retribution)
10
Q
The disadvantages of life imprisonment (5)
A
- Prisons often breed resentment, bitterness and a determination to get back at society
- Prison is expensive, costing the taxpayer about £30,000/year to keep someone
- The majority of prisoners (70%) reoffend on release, demonstrating that the system does not work (A prison record makes it very difficult to get a job when released, which may lead a person back into crime)
- Prisoners can educate one another in crime while inside
- Children are deprived of a parent through no fault of their own and relationships often break down while a person is in prison
11
Q
The issues associated with parole and early release (3)
A
- When a prisoner is allowed out of prison early for demonstrating good behaviour, having repented and convinced the authorities they have reformed or when they have not completed their full sentence, or fulfilled the criteria for getting parole (prison may be overcrowded).
- Advantage: The offender gets a second chance and an opportunity to become law abiding
- Disadvantages: The victim of the original crime might feel this is unfair and may reoffend
12
Q
Christian views on capital punishment (2)
A
- Some Christians support capital punishment (‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed’ – Genesis). They see the threat of the death penalty as a deterrent that helps to prevent serious crime e.g. in the USA, many Christians support the use of lethal injections and the electric chair.
- However, some Christians doubt whether capital punishment is a deterrent and oppose it because an innocent person may be executed and it removes the possibility of repentance. They believe that only God can take life away.
13
Q
Arguments for capital punishment (4)
A
- Retribution – Terrorists and murderers deserve to die (a ‘life for a life’)
- Deterrence – The death penalty deters people from doing horrendous crimes because they know if they are caught they will die
- Protection – The public needs to be protected. However, those given a life sentence are often let out of prison after about 15 years
- Finance – It costs taxpayers thousands of pounds to keep murderers alive in prison
14
Q
Arguments against capital punishment (5)
A
- Mistakes – Innocent people have been executed
- Protection – Putting a murderer in prison protects society
- Deterrence – There is no evidence that the death penalty is more of a deterrent than life imprisonment
- Reformation – Reformed criminals can be an enormous influence for good
- Right – Only God has the right to end a person’s life
15
Q
The alternatives to imprisonment and how effective they are (Community Service) (3)
A
- COMMUNITY SERVICE: This is for offenders who have committed crimes for which they could be sent to prison for months rather than years. The aim is to combine punishment with changing offenders’ behaviour and making amends to the community.
- Advantages: Far cheaper than prison (1/10th of cost); less contact with other criminals and much greater success rate in reforming the offender than prison
- Disadvantages: Seen by some as a soft option and criminals may continue to break the law while doing community service
