Band 6+: Some people think that lawbreakers should be sent to prison. However, others think that better talents among those should be made to work. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

The debate surrounding talented convicts being made to work instead of being imprisoned, has garnered considerable attention. Many deem that it is a waste for talented criminals to stay in prison while they have the potential to make greater contribution to society. However, I conceived that prison is somewhere to execute punishment but no venues where people can create value.

Some people assert that some convicts in prison should be made to work in order to create more value, comparing with staying with others and wasting their time. In many regions, the cost in keeping all the criminals in prisons is regarded as a considerable but unnecessary portion of local public finance, since convicts are only allowed to do basic and manual work to generate limited profits, which barely supports themselves. Therefore, encouraging talents or specialists among them to work in certain fields not only reduces the financial burden of prisons but also provides prisoners with opportunities for re-education and contributing to the society. For example, a prison in China once broke the rules and lifted the sanction of a convict who successfully made an incredible invention.

Nonetheless, others still reckon that prisons function as a tool of punishment, thus the primary objective of prisons is to deprive of convicts’ rights, including their freedom and chances to gain a sense of achievement from working. Consenting to using prisoners to make profits against this paramount goal of running prisons. In addition, it is inappropriate to implement the policy of making contribution in exchange of reduction in punishment, as the potential possibility of troubles in management of prisons. For instance, the powerful and wealth might take advantage of this to escape from the sanction.

Overall, although making prisoners to work presents certain advantages ranging from lowering the managing cost to providing prisoners with opportunities to dedicate themselves. However, I believe that it is better to operate prisons in a traditional way as a place for executing punishment.