Shaming of Criminals

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Vengeance is NOT the point of system of justice. The point of a system of justice is to replace revenge with a system of intimidation and minimized recidivism.

What would be the point of a system of laws if nobody knew what were going to be considered crimes? If most people know that murder is a crime and that they will be punished for it, they should be somewhat more hesitant about resorting to murder. It only modifies behavior if people are aware that it is a "wrong" and that they risk punishment if caught doing said activity. The threat of penalty serves to modify our behavior, in many cases even when there is no authority on scene. For example, most Americans driving on a lonely road on the open plains with no cars visible for multiple miles in any direction, who come to a stop sign on that road, will stop at the stop sign. We become conditioned to obey the law.

Despite this, we are all aware that it is impossible to deter all crime, so the second facet of a system of justice is to do something that will minimize recidivism. Executing a murderer cannot revive the victim -- it can only prevent the murderer from adding to their kill total. We treat children differently before the court because we assume that a greater degree of learning, experience and maturity will suffice to prevent recidivism and that physical separation etc. will not be required to accomplish this.