Retribution is indeed the major, if not the most important, objective of penal measure. There is the view that retribution is euphemism for vengeance, a form of retaliation: society exacts punishment on the culprit as a form of payment for what he owes us, the discomfort and pain he may have inflicted on each of us. The retribution motive is based, among other things, that social and legal controls will break down and society will not be able to function normally as a result. This fear is not entirely groundless or irrational. The idea that sanctions will ensure the smooth functioning of society and prevent people from breaking rules has long been deeply implanted in social philosophy.
The more rational way of dealing with criminals would be adopting deterrence as the theme to ensure that none of these criminals ever return to crime again. Deterrence, the preventive form of punishment, has both individual and general implications. Rather than adopting retribution, or more awkwardly put, “ An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” as the aim of punishment, by adopting deterrence, it seeks to inflict a memory so unpleasant or repulsive on the criminal during his time in prison that by the time the convict walks free, he would have made up his mind never to step into that place again. Likewise, heavy but fair punishment meted out to these criminals would also exemplify the fairness of the government in maintaining law and order, so much so that it would be enough to deter would-be lawbreakers. Even if capital punishment were to be necessary to highlight this, it will serve its cause amply.
Nowadays, people are adopting more humane forms of punishment and with it comes the possible effect of not being effective enough to deter would-be criminals. The treating of criminals, one feels, should be to treat it like how a doctor would when he treats a patient stricken with illness, to find the cause and determine the best solution to heal it. The aim is to remove the factors that deviate a man from the right path and allow him to set out to be a law-abiding citizen. Some of these factors considered to be responsible for crimes are lack of affection at home, the environment, upbringing and frustration. In the prison, the emphasis is on reform. He is taught a skill so that his prison term could be profitably spent and he could secure a job on release. The remedial measures adopted are intended to make a criminal a normal person. After all, killing the offenders does not revive the life of the victim.