Quote:
Originally Posted by Wallaroo
Whipping would be the most obvious method of corporal punishment to use, since it doesnt disable the convicted criminal physically. Sure, it hurts like a son of a bitch and leave scars, but thats about it!
I'm talking about smaller crimes where criminals (for the most part) are taking the punishment into consideration - like destruction of public and private property, petty/grand theft, violence against innocent strangers, and other less severe crimes where it could have a great preventive affect. It would make most criminals think twice, and save a lot of tax money on the prison system.
|
Well, "whipping" covers a lot of ground depending on what kind of whip is being used and who is using it. We could be talking about anything from a soft leather that just raises some welts, to a cat-o'-nine-tails that rips off sheets of skin, to an old Roman scourge that digs into and tears out chunks of muscle.
I think anything but the first would be a grossly excessive punishment for destruction of property or theft, and even then I'm not sure I like the idea of punishing damage to property by damaging a person, even minimally.
But the larger question here is what such a punishment would achieve.
Such behavior is certainly not going to reform the offender and its almost certain to make him/her bitter toward society.
It doesn't at all address any possible underlying reasons for the illegal behavior; the punished individual is left
less fit to be a productive member of society than he/she was before.
It doesn't protect anyone, since the individual is presumably immediately back on the street again.
The only possible benefit I can see is that it
might act as a deterrent. But as many people have said, the idea of short-term pain isn't terribly useful as a deterrent to adults. So unless you're willing to inflict excruciating suffering (which many would, perhaps accurately, call torture) or permanent damage on minor criminals, I don't see this accomplishing anything.
Not that the current system of punishment is terribly effective, mind you, but I don't think this plan would be a step forward. Though I will say, I applaud pretty much any creative thinking devoted to trying to find a better way to end crime. Just my opinion.
Oh, and for the sake of emotional appeal, can you imagine the response to the State publicly whipping some 19 year old girl because she was caught shop-lifting a CD, or maybe keying her ex-boyfriend's car? That's a recipe for some serious civil unrest.