Leandro Andrade Essay Example

society member, opposes social order and consequently must be deemed guilty and punished (White, 2006).

According to Kant, the definition of a crime is a violation of social laws which is subject to punishment. In his opinion, Kant argues tat punishment is a legal act which has certain basis in the society. This implies that if a crime goes unpunished, this would mean that the law is weak and ineffective. In addition, an action cannot be considered to be a criminal activity in the absence of a jury to determine that. In relation to mandatory sentence, Kant would argue that the court has jurisdiction to punish offenders no matter how small the crime may appear. Not punishing the offenders would translate to the law becoming ineffective and weak. In his view, Kant would say that the reason why most criminal offenders are not first time offenders is because the law is not sufficient enough hence some crimes in the society go unpunished.

However, another philosopher John Stuart Mill would see mandatory sentence as a very bad idea. This is going by his principle that locking out minor offenders form the society does not help them change but only translates to them being hardened and more crime oriented. This implies that the state should concentrate more on increasing the chances of individual of being caught as opposed to increasing the punishment imposed on an individual. Moreover, it is more appropriate to try and alleviate the problem that lead to young criminal offenders to commit crime as opposed to increasing the punishment of the said crimes. The mandatory sentence system is seen as a ticking time bomb in

that any system which removes this kind of discretion from judges is bound to work in a counter-interactive manner. Mill would simply suggest that there should always be room for mercy.

In the view of Aristotle, mandatory sentence has failed in its objective of in the sense that it has failed in resolving the disparity in the criminal justice system. In particular, Aristotle concept of particularism dictates that this problem regarding the justice system is straight to the core in the society. IIn addition, Aristotle ideas of justice are that there is supposed to be equity and social balance in the society such that the balance of power is not seen to lean too much on one side while weighing heavily on another. In the wake of Aristotle’s ideas, one of the most significant characteristic of mandatory sentences is that the lack of discretionary powers on the part of judges, resulting in a strictly retributivist form of justice. This implies that Aristotle ideas would be to have a socially balanced society with a law that governs and protects at the same time. It is a common belief that the law is a two way edged sword. However, most people fail to understand the true meaning of this and frequently ignore the ideological perspective of the saying. In this regard, mandatory sentence should be applicable in the society but should be applied in a manner such that it works for the common benefit of the involved parties.

Conclusion

Mandatory sentence is one of the most significant approaches with respect to justice that has elicited mixed reactions in its application and adoption. Inn the U.S. mandatory sentence has

been applied in most states and the effects of this is that crime has significantly dropped by a considerable margin. However, there are two sides to this. We should concentrate on the real problems in the society that bring about the increased crime activities instead of aiming to punish crime. Some of the questions that we should ask ourselves are what really a crime is and up to what extent is the law applicable in punishing the said crime. This does not imply that crimes should go unpunished but rather, it implies that while crimes should be punished, this should be done at a level that is both fair and considerate. This way, the society will co-exist and perhaps some of the biting problems win the society will be a thing of the past.