Sample Essays on Crime and Punishment and Great Topic Ideas

Theoretical Essay

In the world of law punishment (alternative name – penalty) is considered as an “infliction of some kind of pain or loss upon a person for misdeed (i.e., the transgression of a law or command).”1 Penalty may take different forms and vary from forced labor, flogging, body mutilation, fines and imprisonment to the capital punishment. The punishment has been very retributive, mostly in the form of revenge, during the pre-modern ages and usually the prosecution was executed by the victims or their families. There was not any proportion between the quantity and quality of wrongdoing and the punishment. The ...

Racial in our crime and punishment system had been a huge concern for many years. The crime and punishment system are geared toward racism. There are reasons that the existence of racism is a concern for punishment and crime. In the United States, there are more black people incarcerated in the prison system than there are white people. It is a proven fact that the legal action against drugs is focused merely on African American individuals. This is due to the policy that concerns the drug war, epidemic in the country. The policy states that it is better to ...

Dreams are a profound mystery that largely went unexplained throughout the majority of human history until Sigmund Freud tried tangling with them. One of his assertions was that if a person feels guilt for any reason but then represses that guilt so that he no longer senses it on a conscious level, it will emerge on an unconscious level, such as through insanity or nightmares. It is possible to repress guilt, of course, so that it no longer has much to do with us on a day-to-day level, but it does not leave. It simply lurks in a different ...

The man cannot be separated from many things. He cannot live without food, air and water. However, it’s not the complete list of items that are necessary for human existence. Humanity is also obsessed with the violence. Throughout the whole history, people invented a lot of different methods of punishment, murder and torture. So, the human history is full of cruelty and violence. Consequently, it’s possible to talk an infinitely long time about how some representatives of humanity have punished, tortured, and killed others more unfortunate representatives of mankind. However, we’d remember only the most noteworthy ...

The law of the contrapasso in Dante’s Inferno is one of the laws of nature with an application to hell. It denotes that for individuals crimes committed by every sinner there must exist an equal punishment, The punishment according to the law of the contrapasso is neither simple nor obvious. It is a punishment that is related to the crime on a metaphoric rather than literal basis on sin. The law of the contrapasso can also be defined as divine retribution. This paper seeks to examine and analyze the law of the contrapasso as it relates to complex ...

In 1764, Cesare Beccaria published the book, On Crime and Punishment. His work provided the foundations of classical criminology. In classical criminology, benefits and consequences are argued to be behind all human behavior. Most people compare the future benefits and costs of particular actions before they commit a crime. The argument put forward is that individuals would not participate in any criminal action if the cost is relatively higher than the benefit (Marcello 3). This paper seeks to analyze the Beccaria’s classical school of criminology and how it changed the justice system in the western world. It also ...

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” presents the consequences of crime the ways in which persons accept the punishment for their crimes. The author explores the psychology of the criminal and presents the excerpt in a pensive tone. The narrator reveals that Raskolnikov accepts his punishment and reflects on the events of the last year and a half. Raskolnikov is forced to deal with the guilt that torments him as he sits in his jail. He has been honest and admits to his crime. The selection is important as it marks reveals the foundations of the novel and gives ...

Abstract

This paper contains an analysis of the book “Criminal of the Bible” whose author is Mark Jones while published in 2006 by FaithWalk Publishing. In this book, Jones analyzes the context exhibited by criminal actions committed by particular characters in the Bible. These crimes are measured in comparison to the Mosaic Law that happened to have prevailed for long periods within which the Bible writings were done. Again, the author gives considerations to certain peer-reviewed opinions relating to Criminal Law philosophies covering both the past and present centuries. The paper, in its presentation, is modeled in the conventional three-part ...

The essence of a punishment implies the use of legal action against the person in response to wrong behavior. The punishment can be used to form socially acceptable patterns of social behavior. Nowadays the theory of criminal law presents various penalties classification because “conviction is not generally considered sufficient punishment in itself” (Becker, 1974, p.2). The criminal law provides different types of sentences based on their comparative severity that includes isolation from society, fine and corrective labor. The most important form of punishment is an arrest that implies strict isolation from society. During the arrest, the convicted person cannot ...

Crime and punishment have forever been the main theme within several writings by numerous authors. The theme is enchanting mainly because it renders a sense of closure for both, the characters and the readers. With a crime that is committed towards an innocent, the issue forever remains hanging until the punishment has been rendered. Therefore, one of the evergreen themes for books has been on the lines of crime and punishment. In order to study this aspect of literature, I have decided to study two books -- "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1984) and a ...

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Children in Prison

In the definition given by the General Medical Council (2016), the term “children” refers to “younger minors who do not have the maturity or understanding to make important decisions for themselves.” In the same report, the term “young people” is used for individuals who are “older or more experienced children and are more likely to be able to make decisions for themselves.” The law holds that when an individual reaches the age of 16, adolescents have the ability to render decisions regarding their respective welfare and status, though there are differences with regards to legal investigations ...

Designation: ______________________________________

Historical and Intellectual Background Cesare Beccaria Bonesana, one of the leading exponents of the social contract theory in criminology, outlined his philosophy in his treatise Dei delitti e dellepene which became symbolic of the Italian Enlightenment in the renaissance years that engulfed the European scene. His views on crime and punishment boasted of novel elements and were primarily centered on providing speedy justice with the penal measures being proportional to the delinquent act. Beccaria’s works were considered to be a protest against the law enforcement torture used to extract confession from the accused individuals. Beccaria’s views not ...

Part a

The modern criminology seems to be stemmed from the amalgamation of the two different schools of thoughts namely classical school originating in the 18th century and the positivist school beginning in the 19th century. It is therefore, necessary to analyze both school of thoughts with respect to crimes and criminals to know the similarities and difference shared by both school of thoughts. It was a general trend before the 18th century to explain every phenomenon in religious context or in the context of spiritual nature. However, the 18th century gave a new world view to the people because of the ...

I must confess I have no personal hero, no man whom I could call that. But in this essay, I would like to write about who is a "hero of our time."

"Hero of our time - who is he?"

The word "hero" can be understood in different ways. On the one hand, it is - an event participant, on the other - is a special individual who stands out from the crowd with an outstanding quality of personality. In Russian literature has known Lermontov's novel “Hero of Our Time." Lermontov said that "Pechorin - have title of the work," no matter what it was. It's no secret ...

Sonya, Svidrigailov, and Lebezyatnikov represent three sides of Raskolnikov. How? Which sides?

In his novel Crime and Punishment, famous Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky aimed at solving an important psychological and moral issue, in particular, to show people the failure of empty and fabled theories, as well as reveal their dangerous and destructive forces. It was the theory that became the idea of the main character, Rodion Raskolnikov, who decided that a strong person had the right to ignore the laws of conscience and morality to achieve his goal. The Raskolnikov's purpose was noble: to retrieve his relatives, in particular, mother and sister, from humiliation and death. But here again we are facing ...

Introduction

Crime is a very diverse word that requires comprehensive analysis to define the threshold of d defining wrong as crime. However, the rule of law helps unraveling the puzzle of understanding the crime. Crime is defined as an act of causing harm to an individual or a group of people in the society. Moreover, committing certain crime may draw the attention of the government or state. Some of the crimes that contravene the morally accepted code include rape, murder, theft and many others. These crimes have different levels of punishment as defined the laws of a country. For an immoral activity ...

According to the political scientist Lawrence Britt, there are fourteen elements that make up fascism. Governments that can be described as fascist, according to Britt, have the following characteristics: powerful and continuing nationalism, disdain for the recognition of human rights, identification of enemies or scapegoats as a unifying cause, supremacy of the military, rampant sexism, controlled mass media, obsession with national security, intertwinement of religion and government, protection of corporate power, suppression of labor power, disdain for intellectuals and the arts, obsession with crime and punishment, rampant cronyism and corruption, and fraudulent elections (Britt). While a government must exhibit most or ...

Introduction

The “uberman” refers to an individual who is deemed to be perfect in all the spheres of his life and one with extraordinary qualities. It is used to refer to someone who is more like a superman. The concept of uberman views an individual as the solution to a certain problem. An individual who is regarded to be an uberman has the ability to bring new meaning into people’s lives and even bring new values into the society. Uberman views an individual to be superior because of their intellectual abilities and their major contributions to the society which exempts them ...

Introduction

Death penalty, as the name suggest is a punishment sentenced to the criminals who are involved and have been proven guilty in assassination of one or more individuals or other giant crime. This is a legal manner that is taken into courts and after the hearings of all the witnesses and considering all the proofs; he is than considered guilty if the proofs are against him and then the court decides to announce the death penalty. The rules and regulations regarding the capital punishment are different from one country to another. Many countries have identified the kinds of punishment for several ...

How does the style of this novel compare to the Great Novels of the 19th century that you have read? Why might a very transparent, "classical" realist style be well-suited to the subject matter here? It is a great novel which creates the sense of Tolstoy in Anna Karenina as well as Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. The realist style is suited to the subject matter as there is a lot of socialist realism in the book and the main character has a lot of traits which are quite similar to the classic Romantic novels. 2. If you know anything about Socialist ...

Global Issues in Liberal arts

A class in liberal arts gives students a good foundation for understanding complex global issues. A Liberal Arts class can take advantage of any disciplines and type of knowledge necessary on a given subject. This paper presents the subject of violence as an example of how many disciplines are necessary to evaluate and learn about violence in American cultural. It also looks at the view from outside the United States and how people view American from so many violent events that take place in the country. The recent mass murder in a movie cinema in Aurora, Colorado is discussed. The tragic event ...

This research paper addresses the following issues regarding capital punishment: Are convicted defendants easily convicted and sent to death row because they cannot afford high dollar lawyers? Is there a moral difference when the state kills as opposed to an individual? Should punishment be based on "eye for an eye" edict or the one that says to "turn the other cheek"?

For the purposes of this paper, research is focused mainly on the United States.

Research Regarding the first issue, Amnesty International quoted U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, who in February 1994 stated that “the death penalty remains fraught with arbitrariness, discrimination, caprice, and mistake”. The quotation preceded an article ...

Social theories are ideas generated by scholars in attempting to explain the social structures of the society. These theories touch on issues such as religion, crime, education, politics, philosophy and many other aspects of the society. Each theorist has held divergent views on different issues and such scholarly debate is always constructive. Criminology and theories under the divergent delinquent acts and have been explored by several theorists. Theorists such as Ernest Burgess, Robert Park and Cesare Beccaria have expressed their theories in their works. This paper evaluates the life and works of Cesare Beccaria especially his theories on crimes ...

Use evidence from Sophocles’ Oedipus, from Shakespeare’s Othello, Moor of Venice, and from secondary sources to explain why you agree or disagree with this statement: “The downfall of Oedipus is the work of the gods; the downfall of Othello is self-inflicted.”

Thesis Statement

This paper is not in complete agreement with the statement “The downfall of Oedipus is the work of the gods; the downfall of Othello is self-inflicted.” Their fate can be better portrayed with the following statement: “both Oedipus and Othello undoubtedly succumbed to vagaries of human life or even to the human condition.” Perhaps the reason behind ...

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper was to argue for the use of intermediate sanctions compared to prison sentences. The paper highlighted the potential benefits of using intermediate sanctions as a replacement for prison sentencing. It was established that intermediate sanctions are cost effective, ensure offender rehabilitation, reinforces public safety and serves to address the problems associated with the prison sentencing such as overcrowding and recidivism rates. The paper also discussed the nine types of intermediate sanctions used in the United States including Intensive Supervision Programs, Fines, Community Service, Day Reporting Centers, Remote location monitoring, Residential Community Centers, Boot Camp ...

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a novel focusing on the cause and effect of a criminal act. The reader is introduced to Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a Russian down and out who is struggling to survive his own poverty. To get money quickly, Raskolnikov chooses to rob and murder a local pawnbroker. These initial actions happen very early in the book’s progress and it quickly devolves into a series of self-involved, guilt-driven inner monologues of a murderer. The colour red appears repeatedly throughout the novel. Traditionally, red is associated with anger, passion and an impulsive surge of emotion. In Crime and Punishment, the ...