Crime and Punishment

For your exam you need to know:

• The need for law and justice.

• Theories of punishment and the arguments for and against them.

• Why justice is important for Christians and Muslims.

• The nature of capital punishment and non-religious arguments about capital punishment.

• Different attitudes to capital punishment among Christians and Muslims and the reasons for them.

• Laws on drugs and alcohol and the reasons for them.

• Social and health problems caused by drugs and alcohol.

• Different attitudes to drugs and alcohol in Christianity and Muslims and the reasons for them.

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

due allocation of reward and punishment/the maintenance of what is right

Addiction

a recurring compulsion to engage in an activity regardless of its bad effects

Capital punishment

death penalty for a crime or offence

Judgement

the act of judging people and their actions

Law

rules made by Parliament and enforceable by the courts

Rehabilitation

restore to normal life

Responsibility

being responsible for one’s actions

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 Laws allow people to feel safe and secure With out laws people could murder and steal without fear But are there times when laws need to be broken?

Reasons why are laws needed What about when some laws are unfair?

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

Why we need justice

• Justice means that fairness happens to all. If someone does something wrong it means that they and the rest of society are treated fairly. • If the law was unfair to society then people may break it (this happened when Poll Tax was introduced in the 80’s/90’s).

• If punishments are unfair by being too lenient then it can lead to vigilantism – people take the law in to their own hands which is unfair as it often goes too far.

Christian Attitudes to Justice

Remember, justice means being fair and treating people equally is of utmost importance to both Christians and Muslims Jesus

taught that people should act in a just way towards each other because God is just. If you want to be treated fairly, you must act that way too. People should

“love thy neighbour”

The Bible teaches what is fair: The

eye” Old Testament says “an eye for an

which shows that punishment shouldn’t be more than the crime The Bible teaches that God is just. He will reward the good and will punish those who are unjust.

In the Bible Jesus taught the

parable of the sheep and goats

which says that God expects everyone to be treated fairly, regardless of what they’ve done (prisoners should be visited and cared for).

Jesus worked for equality, and often was revolutionary. He said that “eye for an eye” was old school and instead people should fight injustice with love

One way which Christians work for justice in the world is through the organisation Christian Aid. They work in some of the poorest places in the world, with Christians AND non-Christians because they believe that they must work for equality for all. They do it because of the reasons given on the previous slide.

Some of the things they do are: • Support sustainable development so that all people have a basic standard of living e.g. drill wells for clean water, help irrigate crops • They work to ensure that people are treated fairly by their governments e.g. in Bolivia they support farmers whose land has been taken off them without compensation • They build factories which manufacture basic drugs in countries who can’t afford to import the most basic of medicines for their people. • They campaign for people to receive fair trials, regardless of what they are accused of

Why Muslims should work for

The fear of punishment in the afterlife

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:

5 Pillars

Justice is the basis of the 5 Pillars of Islam (especially zakah where richer Muslims give 2.5% of their income to poorer ones) . In fact if a Muslim has savings, the interest earned on them is given to the poor as they are taught that the rich should help the poor, not just make themselves even richer.

Shari’ah Law

According to Shari’ah law (Islamic law)

mind

victim.

punishment must be only handed out when in the right frame of

e.g. not angry or distracted. It must be fair to the accused as well as the

Qur’an

The Qur’an teaches that Allah and Muhammad acted with justice and so Muslims should follow their example.

The Theory of punishment

What some people think punishments should be about

Deterrence

If we punish harshly enough, it will put other people off doing the same crime

Retribution

It should be about making someone pay for what they have done, and be seen by others to be punished

Reparation

Using punishment to allow a criminal to make right their wrong to their victim or to society. Community service is an example of this Purposes of punishment

Reform

Punishment should be about trying to make a person realised that what they did was wrong and make them never want to do it again

Protection

Prison etc takes the dangerous people out of society and so keeps everyone else safe

But what are the problems with these theories behind punishing?

Deterrence Retribution

Some crimes are in the heat of the moment, so the consequences are not thought about But does this work as well for someone who assists someone with voluntary euthanasia?

Reparation

Purposes of punishment How can a murderer or drink driver make amends to their victim’s family?

Protection Reform

How can you tell if someone is reformed? Will society be happy in using tax payers money to pay for a criminal to be retrained as a plumber etc?

Not all crimes are dangerous to the safety of others so this wouldn’t always work e.g a debtor

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

Test yourself

1. Give 3 theories of punishment 2. Give an advantage and disadvantage of reform 3. Give 2 reasons why laws are needed 4. Give 2 reasons why justice is important to Christians 5. Give 2 reasons why justice is important to Muslims

Non-Religious Arguments about Capital Punishment:

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 It is a fair punishment for those who commit the most horrendous crimes Against: There have been many cases of the innocent executed (over 130 people on death row in the USA since 1976 have been found innocent Countries with execution still seem to have high crime rates! The USA has one of the highest murder rates in ratio to the number of people living there It may force some criminals to kill rather than be caught It makes us as bad as the criminals

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

– all life is holy and belongs to God so it is not up to people to take anyone’s life 3. It also goes against the idea of

reform

4. The Decalogue says “Do not kill” However,

other Christians

crime as: believe it is a way of preventing serious 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.

3. It has been used in the past by Christians 4. Jesus said “Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death” Matthew 15!

There are 2 Muslim views

1. The

Qur’an

says that it may be allowed in just causes – murder, adultery and working against Islam

1.

“Take not life – which God has made sacred – except for a just cause” (Hadith)

. 2. Also,

Muhammad

also sentenced murderers to death and so Muslims may follow his example 3.

Shari’ah law allows the death penalty for deliberate murder However, 1.

The Qur’an does not allow it for all crimes, and does allow the criminal to pay a victim or their family ‘blood money’ instead (reparation) 2. The prophet Muhammad didn’t enforce the death penalty showing that it is not compulsory 3. Muslims would use the non-religious arguments too

Amnesty International

A non-religious organisation who disagree with capital punishment Amnesty work for justice and to ensure that everyone has Human Rights. They believe that no matter what someone has done, the death penalty goes against Human Rights.

Laws on alcohol

It is illegal to give a child under 5 an alcoholic drink except under medical supervision in an emergency This is because too much alcohol for our bodies can be a poison. Children need protecting.

Young people aged 16 or 17 can drink beer, wine or cider with a meal if it is bought by an adult and they are accompanied by an adult. It is illegal for a 16 and 17 year old to drink spirits in a pub or with a meal.

Spirits are more concentrated and in comparison to others alcoholic drinks, less is needed for the effects to be felt. Food lines the stomach and helps to counteract the effects.

The effects

Accidents happen

Statistics show that someone drunk or on drugs is more likely to harm themselves or others, especially if they are driving.

Crime occurs

Drinkers and drug users are more likely to be the victims of crime or the cause of violence. 50% of street crime is related to drink

Relationships fail

Partners and families frequently find that they are no longer able to deal with an addict who lies to them and treats them badly Causes health problems Liver damage is one of the well known effects of heavy drinking and it is irreversible. Equally, heart rate and blood pressure rises leading to long-term heart damage. Drugs steadily destroy people’s vital organs, as well as causing permanent damage to the brain.

Leads to addiction

Alcohol is as much a drug as heroin is and people become addicted. Without medical help and treatment for rehabilitation, people are trapped by their habit.

Laws on drugs

Many drugs are controlled and put in to categories A,B or C. Class A include things like heroin, class C includes doctor prescribed drugs. It is illegal to supply these unless The police have powers to stop and search people suspected of carrying illegal drugs, or suspected to be driving under the influence of illegal drugs

Christian views on drugs and alcohol

All Christians are against the use of illegal drugs, and the misuse of drugs. This is because the body is special and should not be misused with these things There are 2 attitudes towards the use of alcohol. These reasons are on the next slide.

Most churches have issued statements saying that drug abuse is wrong and pointing out the social problems they cause Groups such as the Salvation Army offer drink and drugs programmes to help support people come off them and rebuild their lives

Opinion 1: Alcohol in moderation is fine because:

The Bible says that Jesus’ first miracle was at the Wedding at Cana where he turned water in to wine.

Jesus would also have drunk wine as a traditional way of welcoming in the Sabbath day. At the last supper Jesus shared wine with his followers and instructed them to this in the future to remember him. Today Christians do this when they celebrate with Holy Communion. Note! Being drunk is NOT ok though as it can lead to suffering

Opinion 2: Some Christians (Salvation Army/Methodists) do not allow any alcohol to be drunk

The

Bible

also teaches that people are special and made in the

image of God

should not abuse their bodies so They see the devastation that alcohol can cause. They work in some of the most deprived areas and see that a lot of social problems are caused by drink

The Bible says “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God?” (1 Corinthian 6:19)

All Muslims are against the use of alcohol and drug abuse. They do allow healing drugs and alcohol to be used in medical situations.

They are

haram

– forbidden by the Qur’an Also the prophet Muhammad taught that they are wrong and so Muslims follow his example:

“Intoxicants are the mother of all evils. Alcohol is not a medicine but a disease.”

The Qur’an has many teachings on the dangers of drinking and gambling. Islam aims to create a peaceful and just society and so this makes drugs and alcohol evil.

They destroy the body and no one has the right to do this because they believe that Allah owns are bodies

Test yourself

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

What is capital punishment?

Give 2 non-religious arguments for and against capital punishment Give the 2 different Christian views on capital punishment What do Muslims think about the death penalty?

When do Muslims believe that it is acceptable to use the death penalty?

Why do Muslims and Christians hate drug abuse?

Give a reason for each of the Christian opinions on the use of alcohol Why are Muslims against drinking alcohol?

End of unit test

a. What is meant by retribution? (2) b. Do you agree that justice is more important to religious people than anyone else? Give 2 reasons for your point of view (4) 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 (6)