We often see comments calling for offenders to be caned repeatedly, jailed for life, or even executed but a dispassionate view of issues is what ...
, who seriously abused their foreign domestic workers and were convicted or had their sentences enhanced in August.Advertisement
But does a person who slaps a domestic worker once and then shows genuine remorse deserve the same consequences as one who repeatedly causes severe physical injuries? Retribution refers to how punishment signals society’s intolerance for crime. Deterrence refers to the fact that punishment teaches both the offender and the general public a lesson, thereby dissuading people from offending.
Therefore, all that was needed to deter her was a large fine. The need for retribution did not outweigh this. The sum may need to be very large to be effective as some have pointed out. Nonetheless, a compliance bond can still be a useful tool in principle.Incapacitation refers to making it impossible to offend. Imprisonment incapacitates a person by making it physically impossible for him to commit most crimes.
But even then, the prohibition is not indefinite. The offenders eventually get a chance to prove that they have repented and rehabilitated themselves. I do not disagree but wonder whether we can also approach the problem from another angle: By seeking to reduce the imbalance.
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