Menninger Examines Punishment vs. Sanctions: How to Punish Effectively? - Essay Sample

Introduction

Karl Menninger according to (Burns, 918) states his opinion regarding punishment and says that sanctions involve penalties for infraction whereas punishment is an unprotected and adventitious additional penalty. Menninger states the different ways of punishment and penalties for example segregation, confinement and being imprisoned. In his view, he says that using the good guy and wrong guy concept is not an appropriate method to rely on and further continues that punishment corrupts legal principle of quid pro quo (restitution) with a good supplement. On the other hand, C.S Lewis advocates for the humanitarian theory of punishment rather than the traditional concept stating that it is barbarous and immoral and goes ahead to state that the sentence is legitimate only because its main aim is to prevent other people from committing crimes for example by changing the ways of the criminal (Babbage, 37) . This paper seeks to support the idea of Menninger that crime is like an illness that should be treated with education, medication, training, and counseling, unlike CS Lewis who sees punishment as deprivation of rights.

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Menninger supports penalty rather than punishment, and he says that sanctions should be more significant, surer and strict especially in assessing penalties in a way that is certainly especially regarding the proper one regard the crime committed. Menninger's view is to avoid skirmish his view of imprisonment or segregation of a criminal as a method that is useful for the offender to but where imprisonment, if used to deter the freedom of a person, is not guilty of any crime or being denied their freedom. Menninger is in support of the traditional view regarding imprisonment being a method that is considered as a price for committing a crime (Burns R p.919). An example of failure to follow the traffic lights a person will be penalized but not punished. If a person commits an offense in an emergency, a fine would be seen as the price. A price is a value that is predetermined in exchange of the desired goal, or, on the other hand, a penalty is a price that is decided automatically and in a determined category that is related directly to a violation of a rule of law that is already set. The person liable to pay the penalty is aware of the situation if they incur it.

On the other hand, C.S Lewis looks at the sentence whether it is just or unjust that people only look at what will deter others and what the criminal deserves. The traditional view regarding what was just an unfair creates a moral problem which then results in the reason why judges and other persons trained in jurisprudence are needed. Lewis says that the new method was trying to substitute the experts who give a correct sentence with the community's moral judgment regarding the same matter (Babbage, 37).

Menninger says that the members of the public behave like a sick patient when a dreaded treatment is advised for his ailment. This is about when a person commits an offense then the remedy that is stated by the law if it is placed on them it raises a lot of issues. People start to bring in their opinions regarding the punishment that has been imposed on them stating how unfair it is to the offender. When such an offender is set free, the issue will then be that society is an insecure place where criminals are set free, and the innocent people are imprisoned based on their understanding. This is what he explains as people shouting about the various issues that are happening to them in society. Menninger states that people need crimes although offenders are punished for the crimes they form part of the lives of people. The reason is that people need crimes to wonder at, enjoy vicariously, discuss and to speculate. The opinion is that there is a measure that can be taken to ensure that the aggressive stabs and self-destructive of our fellow men who tend to be less managing and hence are held liable for punishment. There are other ways which these people can be shown how to become better people of the society and not through the the torture he gives an example of having people to learn the people liable, and they go to explain to the judge who then knows the appropriate way to implement what is recommended for the persons. Applying such a method would lead to change in the prison, therefore, changing sentences to temporary and permanent for only a few people Menninger p.485.

On the other hand Lewis is against the theory of punishing men for teaching others of what will happen to them if they commit an offense. It is more of considering the men rather than looking at what the person has done. He says that punishing a man to teach others is not against his right and that one person being used to teach others a lesson is not fair (Lewis, 2).

Menninger contends that treating a failure using infliction of pain is still used by many and always believed in by many people. The saying "spare the rod and spoil the child" is still also used by many people and considered as a wise saying. Whipping was a traditional method as a treatment of "crime" in terms of disobedience of a child, servants, employees, and slaves. This kind of treatment was only administered for people to cure the conditions that they did the crime. This is given concerning the new treatment of patients where they can access treatment through transplanting organs and repairing tears. This kind of medical treatment is only available for those who are willing to receive help from the doctors. The people who voluntarily ask for help will receive it. It has been compared to committing crimes can be compared to a disease (although it is not) that can be reached through scientific measures which will inhibit the natural meanness in some people that leads them to commit the crimes. Effective treatment will begin where an individual who has been held responsible for a crime will be motivated or stimulated to change the methods through which they deal with the challenges in life. This is for example by using methods like educating them, taking them through processes of counseling and training them to become better persons of society (Menninger, 487). Unlike Lewis whose view is more of protection of the offender and does not give an appropriate method which can be used to make these offenders become better people in the society.

Just like mental illness nowadays can be cured, (Menninger, 488) contends that similar to the different methods that are used on different patients for treatment, the same can be imposed on the offenders. The different methods prescribed for treatment of the mentally ill are used on them because they do not all treat the same condition on the patients. Different patients have treated different methods but not all of them. Similarly, the various forms of punishment may work for the different offenders and not all forms of punishment on the same offender as punishment. This has resulted in the imposition of the different methods of treatment to prisoners for example in courts and prisons, for example, educational, social industrial, religious, recreational and psychological treatments. There are also activities that inhibit acceptable behavior among the prisoners with the help of wardens including giving opportunities for them to being accepted in society. There are also programs for the prevention and controlling crimes being introduced in the community.

Karl Menninger's view of transforming offenders and the different forms and ways to punish offenders is much more preferable compared to Lewis C.S method which only views for the protection using the humanitarian law and not considering the appropriate arrangements other than those which he terms as infringing upon the rights of the persons.

Work Cited

Burns R (1969) "Menninger: The Crime of Punishment." Retrieved from https://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=3112&context=law-review

Babbage S "C. S. Lewis and the Humanitarian Theory of Punishment." Retrieved from https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/churchman/087-01_036.pdf

C.S Lewis "The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment." Retrieved from https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwCgLqGPfKRkKdBkkQQjdMxwKlf?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1

Menninger K "The Crime of Punishment: the Humanitarian theory." Retrieved from https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwCgLqGPfKRkKdBkkQQjdMxwKlf?projector=1&messagePartId=0.3