Crime and Punishment

Write down the meaning of these keywords •  Sin An act against the will of God •  Crime An action against the criminal law •  Reform Using punishment to help people not to offend again and so become law abiding

citizens •  Deterrence Making punishments so severe that people will be put off committing crimes •  Retribution Using punishment to make criminals suffer and pay for the wrong they have done •  Justice The administration of the law and its punishments

4 reasons why are laws needed

So people know how to act towards each other To protect the weak from the

strong and to allow people to live in safety and order

With out laws people could murder and steal without fear

To keep control of society and avoid chaos and accidents e.g speeding

Christian Attitudes to Justice •  Jesus taught that people should act in a just

way towards each other “Be merciful, just as your Father (God) is merciful” (Luke 6)

•  God is just and merciful

•  Christians believe all people are equal and a way they can show justice is by helping the poor become more equal in order to be rewarded with heaven, as spelt out by the parable of the sheep and the goats.

Islamic Attitudes to Justice: •  Allah is just and He will reward those who are

good and punish those who are evil on the Day of Judgement to make it fair

•  Justice is important a everyone is equal, justice is the basis of the 5 Pillars of Islam (especially zakah), the Qur’an teaches that Allah and Muhammad acted with justice

•  According to Islamic law punishment must be only handed out when in the right frame of mind e.g. not angry or distracted

Purposes of punishment

Deterrence Retribution

Reform

Protection

Forgiveness - Christians should always be forgiving and not judge other people

•  Christianity is based on love and forgiveness and that humanity was cut off from God through the actions of Adam and Eve, however God sent his son Jesus to allow Christians to be forgiven for their sins and have a relationship with God

•  Christians believe that God forgives those who are truly sorry. This idea is called repentance. The Lord’s Prayer says “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

Punishment – Christians believe: •  the purpose of punishment is reform and prisoners should be helped do this

•  Those punished should be treated properly. Elizabeth Fry campaigned in the 1800’s for better conditions for prisoners e.g. medical attention and education

•  All punishment should be fair and people should be treated well in order to be rewarded by God, as told in the parable of the sheep and the goats

Christian teachings on punishment Judgement •  Some Christians believe that God will make His

judgement on everyone rewarding the good and punishing the bad in the afterlife

•  However other Christians believe that God will only reward those who are Christian and have had faith in Jesus as a way to salvation as being saved by actions alone seems too easy

•  Jesus said that God would make a judgement on all people therefore it was not up to people to make judgement. The most important thing is to show forgiveness – “Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6)

Islam on Judgement and Forgiveness:

•  Allah is merciful and forgive those sorry for wrong doing

•  Muslims believe that you should forgive others if you want Allah to forgive you

Islam on Punishment: •  If a Muslim commits a crime they go against Allah and will be

punished on the Day of Judgement

Punishment is governed by 2 principles: 1.  The Qur’an says what the punishments should be for certain

crimes e.g. whipping or amputation for a thief. This is because it still allows the offender to stay in society and so has less of an impact on their family.

2.  However, strict punishments should only be a last resort and the offenders background and circumstances must be taken in to account e.g. a person would not have their hand amputated if they had stolen to feed their children.

•  Those who are a danger to society must be imprisoned

•  Under Islamic law a criminal may be made to pay compensation to their victim or its family, as a form of retribution

Test yourself 1.  Give 3 reasons for punishing people? 2.  Why should Christians show forgiveness? 3.  What does the parable of the sheep and the goats

teach people about punishment? 4.  Who was Elizabeth Fry? What did she do and why? 5.  What do Christians think about God and punishment? 6.  What are the 2 Christian attitudes on God and

forgiveness? 7.  What are the 2 Muslim principals on giving

punishment? 8.  Why do Muslims think that it is important to forgive?

Prisoners of Conscience – These are people who have been imprisoned because they have followed their beliefs and so have offended the authorities in the countries they are living in e.g. Nelson Mandela.

Amnesty International is an organisation which works for Human Rights including fair trials and the abolition of the death penalty.

Non-Religious Arguments on Capital Punishment:

Against: •  It is too final, there

have been many cases of the innocent executed

•  Countries with execution still seem to have high crime rates!

•  It may force some criminals to kill rather than be caught

For: •  The death penalty is a

deterrent for those thinking about committing a serious crime

•  It means society can rid itself of dangerous people so they can’t be a treat again

•  It is cheaper than keeping someone in prison for life

Christian views on Capital Punishment: Most Christians are against the death penalty as: 1. St Paul said “Do not repay anyone evil with

evil” (Romans 12); 2. They also believe in the Sanctity of life; 3. It also goes against the idea of reform.

However, other Christians believe it is a way of preventing serious crime as:

1. The Old Testament allows capital punishment 2. St Thomas Aquinas argued that peace and order in

society is more important than reforming a wrongdoer.

Muslim views

•  The Qur’an says that it may be allowed in just causes – murder, adultery and working against Islam, but, the crime must be clearly proven by a fair and proper legal system. “Take not life – which God has made sacred – except for a just cause” (Hadith).

•  Also, Muhammad also sentenced murderers to death but it only an option, not compulsory

Test yourself

1.  What is capital punishment? 2.  Give 2 non-religious arguments for and

against capital punishment 3.  Give the 2 different Christian views on

capital punishment 4.  What do Muslims think about the death

penalty? 5.  When do Muslims believe that it is

acceptable to use the death penalty?

End of unit test a.  What is meant by retribution? (2)

b.  Outline the attitudes of one religion other than Christianity on justice (6)

c.  Explain Christian attitudes to capital punishment (8)

d.  “Punishment should only be to reform the wrongdoer.”

Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion showing that you have considered other points of view. At least one view must be religious (4)