"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". How far would you agree with this philosophy in dealing with criminals?

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“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. How far would you agree with this philosophy in dealing with criminals?

         Crime is often considered a social problem. It is a single natural phenomenon which occurs in every stratum of society and is not something which can be explained easily. Its causes are legion and its trends are difficult to ascertain. Its cures are speculative and controversial. There are those who believe that the evils of imprisonment are inextricable from imprisonment itself. Those who believe that imprisonment should stay are of the view that the prison is an indispensable institution and therefore, a potentially good and useful one. Those who believe that imprisonment must go are of the opinion that criminal sanctions should serve other purposes rather than retribution.

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         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 ...

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