CANADA DEBATE

Whipping sounds good but would it deter crime?

It’s pop quiz time. In no less than 550 words, and no more than 583, answer the following question: Is there any crime that justifies the laying on of the whip by a stout-armed man?

A provincial court judge in cowboy land mused aloud from his bench the other day that if he had his way, he would request Parliament to “bring back whipping.” Alberta’s Judge Michael Stevens-Guille made his comments while he was sentencing a despicable piece of humanity on five counts, including a sexual assault that was witnessed by the victim’s two-year-old son.

Three readers of this view have commented:

1. Karilyn from Nova Scotia writes: I do agree with bringing back whipping,but not for the non-serious crimes.People who deserve such a punishment would be Rapists,and child molesters most of all.The criminal system lets people like this get off way to easy and they usually only get a slap on the wrist.

I know when some years back my son was molested by a local man and just because my son was too late in coming forward, this man got absolutely nothing. Now he is free to do it to other helpless children.

Older teenagers can commit crimes and get nothing and they continue to commit crimes ,because they know that they can get away with it so easily, same as when the media does not publish the offenders name,since it might scar them,perhaps that is what they need,to be singled out,maybe they will think again.Our justice system needs to be totally revamped ti make people understand that when they commit these crimes that they will not think about doing it ever again.The parole system is a joke,the offenders go to jail and get out in a couple of years for good behavior and cost the tax payers thousands of dollars.

Hopefully people from the justice system will read this and try to start making changes.

2. Roy from California, USA writes: I suggest this be studied first as a pilot project, where the ones being whipped will be judges, lawyers, and police officers. We can judge for ourselves whether whipping deters crime.

It will be interesting to see if whipping would make them respectful of the laws they subject the rest of us to, or if the brutality would make them worse monsters.

3. Joel Poole from Brockville, Ontario writes: I do not think that lashing is revenge for these so called sick people . They should have a taste of pain in a public place. They may think twice about dishing out pain to others. Unfortunately, pain seems to be humanity's lowest common denominator. The violent act causes pain. The punishment causes pain. As far as increasing prison time, it's all about money, just like most things in our modern society.

 

  

While I’m sure many other folks across this fair and just land agree with the learned judge that a good whipping might be called for in this case, I hope the judge takes time to consider what he wishes for.

If he thinks that the prospect of being whipped is going to stop some crack-baked person from committing senseless crimes, he is sorely misguided. Perhaps the judge was thinking aloud from his heart and not his head. If he thinks about it, the only punishment befitting a man who would threaten to throw a two-year-old boy through a window is a tiny, windowless room where death by old age is the only option. And give him enough crack so that death comes sooner than later. But whipping him would be a waste of time.

Besides, if the judge was so upset by defendant James Jacobs and his criminal ways, he would have sentenced him to more than five years. Slap the sick bugger into jail for 30 years with no parole.

Punishment in our justice system is to serve two purposes – rehabilitation and deterrence. Maybe people like James Jacobs can turn their lives around after getting the crack monkey off their backs but they still have to do the time. And as near as I can figure it, the longer they stay in jail, the safer we are.

I think the judge was just saying what most of us would be thinking, given the circumstances of the crimes committed.

The problem is, whipping in this particular case would be more for the art of revenge than any form of deterrence or rehabilitation. And we all know that most acts of revenge bring only short-term satisfaction and long-term heartaches.

There are, however, crimes against society that would disappear from the books should the rules be changed and whippings in public be brought back into vogue. Would you ever speed again if you knew that on top of the $300 fine, lost points and a week of walking you would also receive five lashes in the town square?

Drop a bar wrapper, pop can or disposable coffee cup on the ground and it’s time to tie ‘em to the flagpole, tear the shirt open and start wailin’, cat. Jaywalking, rolling stops, illegal turns, using the cellphone while driving, shoplifting and many other less serious infractions, all easily controlled at the tip of a well-oiled bull whip.

In addition to serving as a fine deterrent for all manner of things, whipping as a legitimate form of punishment would open up a whole new career path for some of today’s youth who are looking for new and creative ways to stimulate themselves in the workforce.

Peter Heckbert
8 July 2007

http://trurodaily.com/index.cfm?sid=42865&sc=73 

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