Jeff Jacoby Public Flogging Analysis

Improved Essays
I believe that the author, Jeff Jacoby, made many good points as to why the regular system isn’t working to decrease the number of criminals, however not enough was said about why flogging should be brought back. First of all, I believe flogging is inhumane and a completely outdated method of punishing criminals. The writer believes that a public whipping would humiliate criminals enough to not want to commit a crime again. However I believe that it’s just a more advanced way of spanking a child, hoping it will teach them a lesson. I personally don’t think a one time public flogging would change a criminal's way’s any more than some jail time would. Jacoby also said that if it can’t be the answer to all crimes, it should at least be obligatory …show more content…
What makes it worse is the amount of people that are locked up, which according to the reading is 1.6 million and increasing. If the amount of convicts keep increasing, the cost of confining them will also increase. This is why it’s true, we need an effective way to decrease the amount of criminals. However the author makes it seem like people aren’t threatened by the thought of going to prison and that it won’t keep people from wanting to stay out of it. He believes that there’s some kind of admiration for doing time and they become a “status symbol”. Whether it’s true or not that people will respect someone more after coming out of prison because they’re supposedly more of a man, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not going to care whether they go back or not. I feel as if going to prison is the best way to make someone want to change their ways, and publicly punishing someone would do the opposite. Jacoby said that there’s no respect in being publicly flogged and that if it were to be done after their first conviction it would prevent the wrongdoer from becoming a lifelong felon. I think the opposite, and believe that it would be giving them a slap on the wrist, and being embarrassed will only make them rebel more. With this kind of punishment, the person who was flogged would want to redeem themselves and do something to gain the respect they

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The documentary film “13th” directed by Ava DuVernay is an interesting look at the prison system, how and why Black and Hispanic people make up the majority of the prison population and how the problems within the interconnected political, judicial, and prison system have grown and changed over time. It discusses topics such as the death penalty, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the dehumanization of prisons and about how labeling individuals and groups and criminals effects perception of these people or groups. The documentary touches on the death penalty at certain points in relation to other issues within the criminal justice system. The pressure for sentencing people under the death penalty was overwhelming for politicians.…

    • 1687 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Jeff Jacoby's essay "Bring Back Flogging," he argues against the American public's acceptance of the current state of the criminal justice system by comparing its consequences to an alternative method of flogging. By employing irony throughout the whole essay, he builds up his argument to defend a seemingly outdated method of punishment—flogging—over imprisonment, encouraging the audience to find a reasonable solution to the violence and ineffectiveness of prisons. Jacoby's unfavorable word choices about ineffective punishments and brutality orient Americans towards adopting a cynical view of jails. Later, he presents budget data and odds of catching criminals, supporting his argument with two of Americans biggest concerns: safety and…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since February 1994, Jeff Jacoby has been an op-ed columnist for The Boston Globe, where the essay, “Bring Back Flogging,” was published on February 20, 1997(Jacoby 196). In this essay, Jacoby claims the argument that prison time is so inhumane and he also shows that there are many flaws of imprisonment. Therefore, he wants to persuade his audience that flogging is an effective method of punishing criminals. In order to completely understand Jeff Jacoby’s argument, I will show how he convinces his readers by analyzing his essay. Unlike general essay, Jacoby’s thesis is implied, but the readers can easily the main idea of his essay through the title.…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Introduction The correction system in America is in many ways, deeply flawed. The ideology of prison is that it is created with the general purpose of making people better, morally and ethically, it was supposed to be the adult version of time out, take away someone’s freedom as a person for a while and hope that the same person would learn a lesson and change for the better. But in real life, people who get arrested for minor or not so major crimes gets locked up with the murderers and rapists. The convicted may not be such a bad person; he or she could have had a bad day and did some thoughtless regrettable things. But no matter who they were before they entered the correction system, they come out a totally different person, and in most…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In order to present a logical argument, Jacoby chooses to use refutation as the bulk of his argument, rather than simply explaining and risking the chance of forgetting to address an important counterpoint. For example, in his fifth paragraph, Jacoby targets the argument that imprisonment makes cities safe, and refutes it by citing how unlikely a prison term is for murderers and burglars. For the next four paragraphs, Jacoby follows the same concise format: cite the counter-argument, refute with a logical explanation and statistics. By following this format, Jacoby strengthens his unpopular argument by turning commonly held beliefs on their heads, allowing the reader to be more…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abolish prison by Pascal Emmanuel-Gobry is an article that verbally attacks the U.S. legal system, not only prisons but the sentences given to criminals that partaken in some serious crimes. Gobry only list two somewhat real reasons for prison changes, of which he does not support with any statistics that would make his argument somewhat valid. His proposed alternatives would not reform criminals in slightest, giving murderers minimum wage jobs and an anklet. How is that punishment? That sounds relaxing; not worrying having a job, being disconnected from the media, and having a night out every once in awhile.…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the book she states that this is because of the harsh punishments. She tries to convince us that the prison system is not good and that we need to refine it. In the book she talks about how in the early 1900’s criminologist and other people were strictly talking about how we needed to get rid of prisons because they were not serving the purpose of what they intended to. People who ended up in prison would end up not rehabilitated and would either commit another crime right after they were released or were not able to function well in society. So why are we still letting the system run if it’s purpose is not being…

    • 1900 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Incarceration could prevent future dangerous crimes because let’s face it, that type of discipline doesn’t always work. It is just like when parents try to discipline their children by spanking them, it could be effective up to some point. Some kids learn how to behave in front of their parents to avoid getting spanked but will continue to misbehave behind their backs. Also, information that was omitted was what occurred to people who have been flogged. Was there long term problem related to flogging to the young man who was flogged in 1997 other than a bad memory or did he live a happy, crime-free life after he received his punishment?…

    • 1745 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The sole purpose of prison is to punish criminals for crimes they have committed, protect citizens from crime, and rehabilitate those individuals to be honest, law-abiding citizens once they are released back into the public. Wilbert Rideau, author of “Why Prisons Don’t Work”, was in the Louisiana State Penitentiary and has first-hand experience with how the prison system works. Prison is the punishment, but the punishments within the prison are inhumane and ineffective. High re-offense rates show that the public is not being protected from criminals; nor, are they rehabilitating those individuals to be productive citizens. Prisons are harming the individuals inside of them more than helping, prisons do not work.…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The phrases non-custodial sentence, community sentencing and alternative sentencing are commonly used interchangeably to refer to the same concept. Community sentencing is phrase used in criminal justice to punish offenders that have been convicted without using either capital punishment. Community sentencing is subdivided into different categories such. The first type of community sentencing is compulsory work where offenders are required to work for a local community for up to 300 hours by performing tasks such as; removing graffiti from buildings and collecting litter. The second type of community sentencing involves taking the offender through a series of programs that can change his behavior.…

    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jeff Jacoby states that no matter what crime you commit, the penalty of choice is incarceration. Even someone who has done a petty theft goes to prison it could cost the government at least $30,000 a year to house them. Which starts to add up as time passes by. Imagine a first time offender of any petty crime being subject to flogging, if this stops any other criminal activity by them to continue This method just saved us $30,000 for every year he would have been held inside the prison system, not only that but according to jacoby when a prisoner finishes their sentence in prison, he compares this…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Are Shame Punishments Necessary? The problem in our society we are having now are judges wanting to find cheaper alternatives to incarcerations because it costs so much money. In June Tangney’s essay, she doesn’t agree with shame punishments. In her essay, she states points about how if people who have done nonviolent crimes receive shame punishments, they will be too embarrassed.…

    • 1518 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The opposition to this argument is of course that while it may not be a duplicate of the crime, a relatively equivalent punishment is sufficient in both punishing the offender and deterring future criminal acts while concurrently advocating for the preservation of life and removes the contradictions inherent to…

    • 1621 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “Why Prisons Don’t Work,” Wilbert Rideau claims state prisons will never improve the lives of criminals and lower crime rates in other states. There are four reasons to consider for dramatic shift to make prisons legitimately functional: 1) Resulting with a “silver bullet” instead of turning a criminal’s life around, 2) Keeping a prisoner long enough can make a man embrace inmate life, 3) Not focusing on the main threat of the young potential criminals, 4) Not giving enough opportunity of giving a convict a second chance at rehabilitation. People who come into a prison may never come out of the rest of his unchanged life. Putting a “silver bullet” through criminals does not keep society safe.…

    • 916 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Correctional Ideology

    • 1878 Words
    • 8 Pages

    “The correctional ideology refers to a body of ideas and practices that pertain to the processing of offenders, as determined by law.” There are three main correctional ideologies: punishment, rehabilitation, and prevention. Throughout history, these have been the methods used to deal with offenders. The make-up of these ideologies connects to the public’s opinion of the criminals. Whether society has chosen an “eye for an eye,” a more humane standard, or a hope to prevent crime, these ideologies have no doubt changed throughout time to accommodate the public’s needs.…

    • 1878 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays