Facts about Punishment
Gradually there arose the idea of proportionate punishment, of which the characteristic type is the lex talionis—"an eye for an eye."
Islam takes a similar view, in that performing misdeeds will result in punishment in the afterlife.
Sociologists such as Emile Durkheim have suggested that without punishment, society would devolve into a state of lawlessness, anomie.
Socioeconomic punishment affects a person economically, occupationally, or financially, but not physically.
The repentant criminal, by willingly accepting his punishment, is forgiven by God and inherits future blessings.
Punishment is also meant to allow the criminal to forgive himself/herself.
On the other, punishments involving bodily pain have become objectionable to the general sensibility of society.
Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a person as a response to some unwanted or immoral behavior or disobedience that they have displayed.
Punishment may be designed to reform and rehabilitate the wrongdoer so that they will not commit the offense again.
Earthly punishment, however, is still considered necessary to maintain order within society and to rehabilitate those who stray.
Punishment of children by parents in the home as a disciplinary measure is also a common application.
Punishment teaches people what rights they have in their society and what behaviors are acceptable, and which actions will bring them punishment.
Punishments once deemed humane are no longer acceptable, and advances in psychiatry have led to many criminal offenders being termed as mentally ill, and therefore not in control of their actions.
The second stage was punishment by individuals under the control of the state, or community.
Physical punishment is usually an action that hurts a person's physical body; it can include whipping or caning, marking or branding, mutilation, capital punishment, imprisonment, deprivation of physical drives, and public humiliation.
The trend in criminal punishment has been away from revenge and retribution, to a more practical, utilitarian concern for deterrence and rehabilitation.
Proponents of capital punishment have been known to base their position on this concept.
Punishments can be imposed by educators, which include expulsion from school, suspension from the school, detention after school for additional study, or loss of certain school privileges or freedoms.
Punishment demonstrates to the population which social norms are acceptable and which is not.
Christianity warns that people face punishment in the afterlife if they do not live in the way that Jesus, who sacrificed his life in payment for our sins, taught is the proper way of life.
An important reason for punishment is not only deterrence, but also satisfying the unresolved resentment of victims and their families.
Henceforward crimes were against the state, and the exaction of punishment by the wronged individual (such as lynching) became illegal.
Socioeconomic punishment relies on the assumption that the person's integration into society is valued; as someone who is well-socialized will be severely penalized and socially embarrassed by this particular action.
Deterrence means dissuading someone from future wrongdoing, by making the punishment severe enough that the benefit gained from the offense is outweighed by the cost (and probability) of the punishment.
Corporal punishment, while common in most cultures in the past, has become unacceptable in many modern societies.
Retribution sets an important standard on punishment — the transgressor must get what he deserves, but no more.
The justice system, including a judge, jury, lawyers, medical staff, professional experts called to testify, and witnesses all play a role in the imposition of punishments.
The progress of civilization has resulted in a vast change in both the theory and in the method of punishment.
People learn, through watching, reading about, and listening to different situations where people have broken the law and received a punishment, what they are able to do in society.
Consequently, corporal and capital punishment occupy a far less prominent position in societies.