Justice

That is a difficult question and I like capital punishment, I've not been able to decide what the best justice system would be like.

However, I am inclined to choose reformation over retribution on the following grounds

-          Retribution has been proven to be ineffective as a deterrent. Harsher punishments, enforcement of capital punishment etc have had no effect on reducing crime rates.

-          Retribution treats the symptoms, while reformation tries to treat the disease. Reformation is actually addressing the cause of the crime and tries to alter criminal behavior, hence actually making society safer.

-          Retribution actually lets criminals walk free sometimes. If a case is not strong enough, people feel guilty punishing someone with death or life imprisonment based on the 'what ifs'. Sometimes people also feel bad about circumstances and don't convict because they think the prosecution is too harsh. However, if the punishment is not as severe and complemented with reformation, people are more comfortable handing out the guilty verdict. Reformation also seems fair enough even if people feel bad about the circumstance. So the guilty verdict and punishment will actually be handed out more frequently.

The arguments against reformation and my counters are

-          It is not cost effective and invests too much time and money in reforming. I would counter that with the prison overcrowding problem. Prison systems are spending way too much money keeping convicts inside and having to take care of their basic health, education, well being etc. Better people do that outside on their own instead of on tax payer money.

-          Some people cannot be reformed and sometimes it is not fair to victims. Perhaps we can have a psychiatric panel to determine if reformation is a viable outcome.