Any justice system, in my opinion, should perform these three roles, i.e. carrying out justice, preserve law and order, and protect the public. In passing sentence, should the goal be punitive or rehabilitory.The recent trend around the world seems to be for the latter. Those who are for punitive think that it produces deterrence effect on the offenders, hopefully they learnt what they did was wrong and not to repeat it. It also has the effect on the general population who are deterred by the threat of punishment if they are caught. On the other hand, people who preferred rehabilitory feel that prison is a breeding ground for crimes and its social environment is detrimental to reform the offenders.
The danger of swinging towards rehabilitation is that it opens up a can of worms. Take for example, can a voyeur or shoplifter use psychiatric disorder as a defence in the court, and get away with probation instead of custodial sentence? In psychology, it is called ‘PFC dysfunction’. When a person’s prefrontal cortex (which regulates impulse behaviour) is not working properly, he may not be able to control his impulses. He is often oblivion to future consequences and focus only on immediate gratification. However, I think no one can abdicate responsibility from one’s deeds. If we allowed garbage to enter our minds, our actions will bear the result of that input.
Freudism, a study of human behaviours, breeds and encourages personal irresponsibility. Putting blame on someone else is easy, just like this interesting poem I came across:
“I went to my psychiatrist to be psycho-analysed
To see why I killed my cat & blacked my husband’s eyes
When I was one, I saw my mummy hit my dad with a trunk
That follows naturally I’m always drunk
When I was two, I saw my father kissed my maid one day
That’s why I suffer now from kleptomania
At three, I have the feeling of resentment against my brother
So it follows naturally I poisoned all my lovers
But now I’m happy here as I’m taught that
Everything that I do wrong is someone’s fault”
