Punishment of Wrongdoing in Canada Law Essay Paper

Punishment of Wrongdoing in Canada
Student’s Name:
Student’s Number:
Institution:
Introduction
Punishment of wrongdoers is categorically the most problematic and challenging form of exercise of state power because it demands exclusive jurisdiction. The discussion of a sentence without paying attention to what distinguishes it from the other aspects of coercion is risky not only to the critique but also to the state of a country's jurisdiction. As time goes by, and as nations advance, there is a creation of new forms of punishment that either support of evading the standard protection of criminal processes, hence undermining the sense that not all wrongdoings should be treated and punished the same. Nonetheless, the government of Canada has created its particular definition of punishment, stating that if a coercive measure aims at prevention, regulation or administrative convenience, then it is, arguably, not punishment. This paper examines the state of punishment of wrongdoing in Canada while calling for rehabilitation as a mode of punishment for interpersonal conflicts and other non-criminalized acts.
Rehabilitation as Punishment
The annotation of this section of the paper is odd. This is amid its meaning and explanations of Fergus McNeill, a Professor of Criminology and Social Work at the University of Glasgow. In his journal, with a similar title, many people term punishment and rehabilitation as alternatives among which wrongdoers must choose between (McNeill, 2014). It should have and mean the same process. However, rehabilitation can be a punishment. This is because, according to its activists, making a mistake, regardless of how grave and intense it is, is based and rooted in the experience of people in social exclusion and poor treatment, leading to a criminal offence. This essay supports rehabilitation, not because of its lenient nature, but as a form of restorative justice and the belief and capacity that people can change their ways, themselves and their distinct situations for the better. However, the argument holds the stand only to non-criminalized acts due to their ability to make different choices and to overcome certain circumstances with the view of building a better future for themselves, their families and those around them.
A Brief History of the use of Rehabilitation in Canada.
There are four fundamental eras of the practices of punishment in North America. These are the rehabilitation era, the retribution era, incapacitation and deterrence. The context of the different forms of punishment is often discussed on the waxing and waning of the four ages. However, in the pedagogical and theoretical talks on the history of punishment in Canada, the general name for the period is welfarism. Also, the practices faced a rise then a fall, and then a significant increase again in the 20th century. However, in modern times, Garland states that the use of the four forms of punishments induces a hybrid definition that "...The Liberal legalism of due process and proportionate punishments with a correctionalist commitment to rehabilitation, welfare and criminological expertise" (Moore & Hannah-Moffat, 2005). What the author attempts to say is that the rehabilitative era contains certain basic features such as specific policies of treatment, criminological analysis, indeterminate punishment and other characteristics of the welfarist period.
The period lasted for a significant time in the Western region of the world. Nevertheless, the practices began to fade from the minds of the people slowly, and this led to another era in punishment, the punitive era. Pratt (2005) says that the rehabilitative form of punishment was practised in Canada in the 1950s and majorly in the 1960s. The process mainly comprised social and psychological processes as social workers and psychologists played a significant role in the practice. During the time, most of the policies by the government were aimed at the betterment of the individual, which would, in turn, lead to the overall improvement of the community. The contents on the call for rehabilitation were mainly included in the report by the Fauteaux Committee of Inquiry in 1953 which stated that rehabilitation should be passed at both the provincial and federal level of the parliament (Chunn, Menzies & Boyd, 2001). This encouraged the government to promote some of the reforms in its penal practices in 1956. However, due to the massive reception that the punitive forms of punishment acclaimed from Ottawa and Ontario in the 1970s and the 1980s, the Correctional Service of Canada states that the rule had been forgotten by 1991.
Why Canada should adopt Rehabilitation.
The arguments in aid of rehabilitation as a form of punishment would not be valid without exposing the limitations of other types of capital punishment. In this context, before the application of harsh discipline on an offender, it is crucial to think carefully about the state of the society, the public policy and the views of the citizens of the matter. According to the findings of a number of psychologists who have dedicated their lives into studying punishment, the effectiveness of capital punishment in creating and developing a short-term change in a person's behaviour, or suppressing their negative response, wholly depends on the conditions of their immediate environment (Adam et al., 2013). Therefore, for likely results of a form of punishment, it ought to be both predictable and applied in a high-intensity environment. Otherwise, the subjects would develop temporary impacts in their behaviours to adapt to the place, and this means that they are beginning to tolerate their setting. In light of the information, exerting intense levels of capital punishment is contrary to the objectives of justice and fairness.
The application of pressure and threats of punishment, regardless of how severe they are, will always fail in deterring any individual who is confident that their behaviours are beyond saving and willing to accept themselves for whom they want to be. Moreover, this form of punishment will fail to deter those who are overwhelmed by emotions and filled with disordered thinking to be aware of and respond to the consequences of their negative behaviours. Also, long after their release, convicted felons always report their struggles outside of prison. Although they have already served a sentence, they face the stigma of their convictions, discrimination, being hated and called names and bias in employments (Hannem & Bruckert, 2012). This is not regarding how small or big their offences, they face problems associated with the psychological stress of their imprisonment, and that should not be the case.
The incarceration rates of Canada are among the highest in the world. They are higher than those of the United States. According to a report by the Correctional Services of Canada (CSC), the statistics of the country's prison population show that the nation is the fourth highest with a massive per capita in all of North and Europe (Gorman, 2013). The data places Canada just behind England and Scotland. In this case...