Should the families of victims be allowed to decide the punishment of those that commit the crime?


You are accused of doing a crime. The last thing right now you want is to have to face the family of the son you wronged. There is a new law though. The families get to choose your punishment. Sure you were only drinking and driving. That will not get you into to much trouble. Then again your fate is now in the hands of people who blame you for their son’s car accident.

This is how things could be if the families of victims got control. Things would get out of hand. Some families could seek things as little as an apology and others could get as extreme as revenge. The families could rule things unjustly for the criminal. Things of this delicate nature should be left in the hands of governmental officials. They do their job to the best of their abilities. Most of them, if not all, are fair in their reasoning because they are not personally linked to the families. Families should not be allowed to decide the fate of the criminal.

First things first, there is this thing in the human nature known to us as revenge. It has played a role throughout history, causing destruction to anything in its path. This would also be the determining factor for families with crime victims. Families would think of the pain and anguish that has been caused to them. They would then take that and try to create the same sort of misery to the criminals. Families could potentially cause more harm then good even though they could be thinking that justice has been served.

This question if acted upon then many people could be out the job. There are many trained professionals that enforce crime for a living. There are also judges and prosecutors that have spent years at collage, training and working, to become a good law enforcer. Families have no right to kick these people out of the courtroom. If they really want to enforce law that much they can go spend eight long years in law school.

Families can be very unjust. They can take a situation and then blow it way out of proportion. They can take a situation and bend it to their own will if given the motivation. Families will not know how to take care of a situation such as crime. Leave the professionals to do their jobs. Let the families do theirs.

And to all the families that are out there thinking this cannot possibly be true, the facts state otherwise. Families are more prone to show sympathy. They will fall for false smiles and phony words. Criminals would then be let loose and the world would become unsafe to law abiding citizens. Families could not handle the weight of a criminal problem.

In conclusion, Families cannot be given the weight of a criminal case. The government we have taken so much time and careful planning to establish would come crashing down on us. The country we know so well would be changed forever. The system is place now has worked do well. It has helped us, through ups and downs. Why on earth would we reconsider and change this plan now?