(1) Kris’s file:
Upon review of the file containing Kris’s details and my subsequent research to ascertain the truth therein, it is true that he is now 25 years of age. The information I have also confirms that while he was 13 years old, he was charged with battery and later on placed on probation. Further information, according to my research, confirms that Kris was again charged with criminal trespass and again placed on probation. This is his third probationary sentence he is facing, although his first upon attaining the age of adulthood. However, the information I have contradicts Robert’s findings that there is no member of Kris’s family with any criminal record. We have reliable communication to the effect that Kris’s brother was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm when he was 20 years old and was sentenced to 2 years in jail. That is only instance that Robert’s information contradicts the information that we have.
(2) What makes the defendant the perfect candidate for the probation?
The probation period will enable him to fully quit drinking and smoking. We attribute his occasional drinking and smoking to the king of friends he is hanging out with. The probation sentence will assist him to disassociate himself with such friends as they only contribute to mess his future up.
(3) Correctional facility v cruel punishment
Placing inmates on probation builds build them both psychologically and physically. This is because while, on probation, they are engaged in training so that they acquire both technical and practical skills that will assist them in the future. This training affords them an opportunity to reflect on their past and see how they had wasted their time on unnecessary activities such as drinking and smoking. Compare this with a prison sentence which would only causes them untold suffering in solitary confinement. A prison sentence leaves them emaciated, weak and hopeless for the future (Greg, April 2, 2012). It makes them appear downcast, downtrodden and rejected by the larger society. They are better off in probation than in a prison cell. Probation is therefore meant to assist the inmate to reflect on their past and see how they wasted their time doing useless things and therefore gives them another opportunity to change their lives for the better. Probation also helps to reduce overcrowding in prison cells by providing an alternative way to rehabilitate the inmate. It is therefore an alternative corrective mechanism for some misdemeanors.
(4) Case for and against making prison life effective
It is true that most people view with disdain the idea of creating amenities aimed at making prison life bearable and effective. They see it as an attempt to make prison life even better that the life experienced by other people outside prison. They see an advantage on the part of the wrongdoer and a disadvantage on the side of the obedient person. When the federal government invests in equipping prisons with more officers to aid in manning the prisons, when the government creates a garden for the inmates to be trained on new farming methods, when a playing ground is prepared for the inmate to have some play, when the inmates are counseled by officers who have been hired by the government with taxpayers’ money, this is seen waste of funds to evil people (Joshua, 2002). The converse is, in fact, the truth. These people are usually confined in prison as a retributive, corrective or rehabilitative measure. The idea is not to expose them to harsh prison life so that they suffer for the wrong that they did, the idea behind “a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye” philosophy.
The idea is not to make the prisoners’ lives miserable; the idea rather is to make them dependable people in the future. It is meant to make them reflect on their sinful past and focus on a promising future devoid of the wrongs that made them be placed in prison cells. Therefore when the federal government spends taxpayers’ money in these activities, it is usually money put into constructive use (Emily, Nov 28, 2012)
References
Emily, S. (Nov 28, 2012). Probation 2.0: How Technology is Changing Probation Work. Boston.com.
Greg, M. (April 2, 2012). The Global Landscape: International Cooperation. SCmagazine.com.
Joshua, D. (2002). Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. Gale Group.
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