TASK TWO

TEST TWO

Some people believe that there should be fixed punishment for each type of crime. Others, however, argue that the circumstances of an individual crime, and the motivation for committing it, should always be taken into account when deciding on the punishment.

Discuss both these two views and give your own opinion.

范文

Two principles for criminologists and judges to sentence an offender are, firstly, his purposes and then the effects that his behaviors cause. Therefore, people in and out of law life invariably respond differently to the sentencing of a case.

For one thing, some persons feel convinced that criminals should be punished in a standardized way as long as what they have done imperils social and personal security. One of reasons for them to believe so is that the way is not only fair to victims but also a respect to judicial system.

Nevertheless, a unified punishment system is not opportune under some circumstances since the crimes are done out of complex motives and in various situations. For example, a thief robbing cash to feed his children and another to buy illegal drugs must be different. As to the former, he, being unemployed probably, is forced to commit crimes to some extent because of the failure of social security system. In comparison, the latter breaks law only for personal indulgence. Therefore, they should be treated separately.

In my eyes, a criminal may be not that vicious as we view him. In some cases, a criminal is even more endurable. Approximately 20 years ago, a man was murdered by his wife with a rope and scissor in a deep night after he abused his wife with belt and nail. It was reported that the woman had been bearing the torture since marriage and got desperate simply because court, neighbors, and NGO (Nongovernmental Organizations) all stood by when she, trying to get divorced, was beaten even more barbarically by her husband. On the court day, nearly 100 women who experienced the same traumatic life as she did, kneeled in middle of the yard of the Court, praying that she could be saved. Consequently, the woman was sentenced to permanent imprisonment. From her case, we can read that some crimes are done when laws are inactive. Therefore, it is unfair to make the doers of such crimes penalized seriously.

All in all, evils do not only go with greed, hatred, and selfishness, but also with helplessness, hopelessness, and powerlessness. Therefore, punishment is expected to be softer for the offenders who merely hope to survive and keep their dignity.