Our legal system should not provide compensation to victims as a form of justice against crime. Compensatory justice entails exchanging resources between a victim of injustice and perpetrators. For instance, a victimized person is compensated with financial resources to mitigate likely harm intended against a guilty individual (Christie, 1981). Legal systems have implemented harsh imprisonment policies aimed at incarcerating criminals in the past. Penal laws have long been used to seclude guilty persons from society by taking their valuable time. Ideally, our legal system should avoid compensatory justice as it can result in violence between conflicting parties.
Imprisoning offenders has detrimental individual and social effects required for personal development. One can experience psychological complications from being in solitude for many days. Nonetheless, it is an instrumental approach to punishing crime among people causing harm to others compared to compensatory justice (Christie, 1981). For instance, taking criminals into confinement allows the personal reflection of one’s s behavior and actions. Besides, correctional facilities establish platforms for prisoners to engage in practical social and economic activities. Compensatory justice would motivate victims to take action against individuals who inflicted pain in a particular crime.
Revenge is a natural feeling which forces individuals to seek justice in cases of unfairness. Vengeful persons are likely to develop an urge to inflict similar pain levels against them when legal systems depict unfairness. Compensatory justice uses a framework where the process’s resources cannot be equated with criminal action. Wealthy people in the community would get away with serious crimes, as they can facilitate convincing compensation payments. Individuals from humble backgrounds with fewer resources for payment would be treated unjustly. Essentially, offenders’ traditional imprisonment is the best legal approach to ensuring civil justice fairly across all individuals irrespective of social status.
Reference
Christie, N. (1981). Limits to Pain. Columbia University Press.