Punishment: An ineffective way to solve societies problems

Even though we might feel that utopias are a thing of the past, every society strives to achieve this unattainable perfection. Our goal as humans is to create a world where every human being is the epitome of morality and righteousness. So if there is no room for sinful individuals who feel that laws are meant to be broken, then what should we do with them?

            The human race has come up with a system of removing immoral citizens and isolating them in a room in an effort to shame them and destroy their lives. Dictionary.com defines a prison as “a place of confinement”. In a utopian society a prison is defined as a place for those who don’t deserve forgiveness and who adulterate society. We feel that “no good can be achieved by [criminals]”(Hawthorn 129) so why not isolate them from the rest of the righteous world. The leaders of the Puritan society feel that shaming Hester permanently for the rest of her life will somehow purge her. What they don’t understand is that evil can’t be fought with evil. The public humiliation Hester felt for her crime will only cause more pain and anguish and won’t reform her in anyway.

            Some aspects of society haven’t changed in hundreds of years. We still feel that the best way to reform a criminal is to destroy his or her life. Yet according to Crimeinamerica.net, 52% of criminals who have been incarcerated will return to prison. Punishing wrongdoers physically and emotionally has never worked in creating the optimum society and it never will.