Statement: This house believes criminal justice should focus more on rehabilitation, less on punishment.
Opening: We believe that criminal justice should be predominantly focused on punishment. We believe this because if you commit a crime and receive rehabilitation, is this not a form of reward? You do something illegal, but then get the chance to receive professional help that law abiding citizens may not be able to afford? What if your sister was raped and the rapist was convicted then sent to jail? Would you care whether or not he received rehabilitative help in jail? No, of course not. This criminal has hurt someone that you love and they may be always haunted by this. So if the person you love and care about is unable to get better, why should you care if the person that inflicted this pain upon them is “better”? If you commit a crime, you have to deal with the consequences. If you’re sentenced to serve time in rehab rather than in a jail, where is the penance being paid? Is justice really being served if you’re not being punished for what you’ve done?
Closing: Receiving punishment for a crime is not an option, it is mandatory. To pay penance for what you’ve done there needs to be some sort of punishment. Rehabilitative help is not a necessity for criminals, but jail time is.
Opening: We believe that criminal justice should be predominantly focused on punishment. We believe this because if you commit a crime and receive rehabilitation, is this not a form of reward? You do something illegal, but then get the chance to receive professional help that law abiding citizens may not be able to afford? What if your sister was raped and the rapist was convicted then sent to jail? Would you care whether or not he received rehabilitative help in jail? No, of course not. This criminal has hurt someone that you love and they may be always haunted by this. So if the person you love and care about is unable to get better, why should you care if the person that inflicted this pain upon them is “better”? If you commit a crime, you have to deal with the consequences. If you’re sentenced to serve time in rehab rather than in a jail, where is the penance being paid? Is justice really being served if you’re not being punished for what you’ve done?
Closing: Receiving punishment for a crime is not an option, it is mandatory. To pay penance for what you’ve done there needs to be some sort of punishment. Rehabilitative help is not a necessity for criminals, but jail time is.
In writing and having this debate, I am demonstrating active citizenship. By taking an interest and a stand for how I feel criminals should be dealt with, I am actively attempting to help my country/community better itself.
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