People are facing the dilemma of whether or not criminals should be sent to jail. While some argue that prison is necessary for certain offenders, I would argue that there are better ways to deal with them.
On one side of the argument, there are many who claim that there are various benefits that the prison system brings us. To begin with, imprisonment can decline the number of lawbreakers significantly by punishing and educating them. Thanks to long prison time and harsh punishment, those who commit crimes might not re-offend due to fear of being detained again. In addition, the jail system also acts as a deterrent to those who have the intention to commit crimes. This means that when they know how harsh punishments are, they will no longer want to embark on the path of crime. As a matter of fact, the number of criminals has decreased year by year. Secondly, without prison, there would be many drawbacks for society. When there is no longer a prison system, criminals fear nothing. This leads to an increase in the rate of people engaging in illegal activities, posing a serious threat to society.
However, I would be inclined to argue against this as I believe that there are more alternative punishments than incarcerating. Firstly, in cases of juvenile delinquency, they should be educated, not imprisoned. This might be explained by the fact that they are not mature enough to distinguish what is right or wrong; hence, we should have other measures. Furthermore, for those who commit minor crimes like speeding or shoplifting, they should receive fines related to money. Because sending them to prison is too stringent, they should only receive warning sentences. Moreover, we will apply the death penalty to those who commit serious crimes such as drug trafficking, murder, or terrorism. Murder and terrorism should be eliminated from society on account of causing suffering to others, like the victim’s parents. Drug trafficking destroys others’ futures because it lures them into the path of addiction.
In conclusion, while the effectiveness of prison as a punishment is debatable, I believe that it is not always the best solution. Some alternatives could be considered to make society better.