题目:Should criminals be sent to a jail or let them do something else as punishment instead of sending into a jail? Why and give your reasons.
范文:There has long been
controversy1 concerning the objectives of the justice system. Sending criminals to a prison seems to be a
justified2 punishment for damages
inflicted3 to victims or society. But currently an increasing number of people goes with the option that criminals should be given appropriate amount of community services as a substitute of correction measures.
Traditionally courts sentence law violators to serve a period of time in a prison or, under some circumstances , a correction institution if the
offenders4 are
minors5 or the charges are not serious. Criminals, after serving their time, are discharged back to the street. Ironically many of them end up becoming victims of the law itself. For example, a forty years old man served 10 years in prison for
intentional7 injury . Released from jail, he found himself having great trouble in making a living because he lacked new skills and knowledge for work. No place wanted him for fear of possible future wrong doings because of his criminal record. In many cases, ex-criminals become outcasts of community and are forced to commit other crimes for revenge or other reasons.
On the contrary , criminals could be changed into contributing members of the society again if given a second chance. In such cases, they perform public services under
supervision8 making a
meager9 but honest living. This not only cuts the expenses of keeping them in jails such as food, cloth, and numerous other costs, but also warns would-be law offenders the consequences for illegal actions. This is particularly effective for
minor6 criminals who stand a greater chance of achieving the corrective aims.
But it is no easy job to draw a fine line between those who should be given a
lighter10 punishment and those who should be more heavily published due the nature of law under complex circumstances. Nevertheless , we should encourage more effective ways of law enforcement to protect law-abiding citizens and, at the same time,
deter11 and punish violators at any level so that criminals would not take advantage of lighter punishments.
To sum up, either sending criminals to a prison or giving them community work as another form of punishment has merits for different reasons. But we need to be clear of the goals of law and choose more effective ways of law enforcement .