There seems to be two different types of laws that are followed in today’s society: civil law and criminal law. Society has deemed which crimes are seen as criminal and which are seen as civil. Both, criminal law and civil law, serve to protect individual’s rights and freedom from being breached. However, there is a divide between criminal law and civil law. This divide can be explained by many different things, however class seems to be prominent, not everyone is subjected to same punishment when breaking the law. Meaning, depending on which class one belongs to, they will be held to a certain standard. Civil law tends to apply to the upper class, while criminal law tends to apply to the lower class. The division between criminal law
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According to Jeffrey Reiman, the label “crime” has been strictly reserved “for the dangerous action of the poor,” without describing the worst of actions that caused suffering in America by the upperclass (Reiman, 60). This sets up a foundation of what is seen as crime according to societal standards, and it certainly counts out the upper class and focuses on the lower class. Reiman does not sugarcoat societal biases when discussing the differences between laws divided by class. There are crimes where, depending on who committed the crime, the punishment is severe for some and lenient for others, an example being murder. In 1993, a company pleaded guilty to “safety misconduct” in a methane explosion that resulted in death of ten workers. This “company was fined $3.75 million” and the acting foreman of the mine was suggested to receive the minimum sentence, which was “probation to six months in probation.” Compare this to Colin Ferguson, a man who killed 5 people and wounded 18 others. What Ferguson did was indisputably mass murder, however why is the mine situation not considered mass murder? (Reiman, 61). The status of the company has caused them to receive a different punishment and label compared to Colin Ferguson. Because of the societal divide in the way laws are conducted, the two are seen on different scales, even though murder was involved in both cases. The criminal/civil divide causes
According to Jeffrey Reiman, the label “crime” has been strictly reserved “for the dangerous action of the poor,” without describing the worst of actions that caused suffering in America by the upperclass (Reiman, 60). This sets up a foundation of what is seen as crime according to societal standards, and it certainly counts out the upper class and focuses on the lower class. Reiman does not sugarcoat societal biases when discussing the differences between laws divided by class. There are crimes where, depending on who committed the crime, the punishment is severe for some and lenient for others, an example being murder. In 1993, a company pleaded guilty to “safety misconduct” in a methane explosion that resulted in death of ten workers. This “company was fined $3.75 million” and the acting foreman of the mine was suggested to receive the minimum sentence, which was “probation to six months in probation.” Compare this to Colin Ferguson, a man who killed 5 people and wounded 18 others. What Ferguson did was indisputably mass murder, however why is the mine situation not considered mass murder? (Reiman, 61). The status of the company has caused them to receive a different punishment and label compared to Colin Ferguson. Because of the societal divide in the way laws are conducted, the two are seen on different scales, even though murder was involved in both cases. The criminal/civil divide causes