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Salient. Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Vol. 32, No. 24. October 2, 1969

The Law And Punishment

page 4

The Law And Punishment

How does the law determine what punishment fits a crime—a a criminal? Arguments for and against punishment concern us all, as for example in the case of corporal punishment.

Portrait photo of academic wearing glasses

Arguments against corporal punishment

(a) In the last 30 years, three separate and independent committees of high standing in England and Canada have reported against corporal punishment. One of these the Cadogan Committee—analysed the after-prison records of 440 men convicted of robbery with violence. Of these men. 142 had been flogged, and more than half of those (55 per cent.) went out to commit further serious crimes including robbery with violence.

(b) Each committee concluded that corporal punishment acts neither as a deterrent to those flogged nor to others.

(c) In 1948, Norval Morris a criminologist of world standing and at present Professor of Law and Criminology at Chicago University, studied the histories of 270 hardened criminals in England. Eleven had received corporal punishment, of whom nine subsequently committed crimes of violence and the remaining two committed other crimes.

(d) Men who had been flogged told a sociologist in Wormwood Scrubs (an English prison) that they would prefer corporal punishment to a long prison sentence because flogging is over quickly. They also said that violence carried out by the State would make violence in general more acceptable and more likely.

(e) Even if we accept that corporal punishment in the home or school is justified it is fallacious to compare such discipline with cold, delayed, judicial punishment.

(f) The "cat" or the birch is nothing more than a vestigal form of torture.

Arguments for corporal punishment

(a) The law as at present seems powerless to prevent daily robberies with violence and assaults on women and girls, Birching would be an effective deterrent.

(b) Longer prison terms are not enough, because prison is no longer tough. It has no terrors for the hardened criminal.

(c) Leniency and permissiveness have gone too far through the activities of well-meaning theorists. Harsher treatment is needed.

(d) No punishment is too severe for those who greviously injure or terrify people and make our public highways unsafe for the innocent. Some experienced and knowledgeable people, like the former Lord Chief Justice. Lord Goddard have said that corporal punishment has a deterrent effect.

(e) We should give thugs a taste of their own medicine.

(f) Many people believe that corporal punishment in childhood is beneficial. There is no reason why it should not be equally effective with criminals.

(g) Birching is the only way to express the community's revlusion at serious crimes of violence.

Summary

Those who support birching see it as the self-evident response where they believe that other methods have failed. No significant facts or figures are produced in support of this attitude.

Those who oppose birching quote the history of corporal punishment as well as case studies and statistics to show that it has failed to deter in the past and therefore should not be revived.

The Department of Justice believes that research findings and the great weight of evidence are against the reintroduction of corporal punishment.

Harsh penalties have been used in the past and have failed.

Sentences

As the recent White Paper "Crime in New Zealand"' (1969). says: "There is evidence of some concern within the community that the punishments imposed by the courts do not always fit the crime. It seems plain that there would be less concern if, in some cases, where the crime is of the worst type, the maximum penalty were imposed."

Maximum penalties were revised by the Crimes Act 1961 and are adequate. It is for the courts to use them in appropriate cases At the same time it is important to understand that maximum penalties have been devised to give the courts plenty of room so that each ease can be dealt with on its merits.

The independence of the courts is an essential part of our legal system. The sentence to he imposed on the convicted offender is for the court and the court alone to decide, free from outside pressure of any kind. The courts of this country are independent of the Executive and no Government or Minister may attempt to direct or influence their decision. They are equally free from the influence of public clamour. A Judge or Magistrate should not be swayed by sudden gusts of popular feeling on a particular issue or a particular crime.