Why another offence after being punished? What measures can be taken?

      An unbearably painful subject is that a high proportion of ex-criminals are about to commit crimes again after serving their first punishment. While there are several reasons for this tendency, such as social and educational background of the offenders, the overdone disapproval of the society or their inability of rehabilitation, a number of effective measures can be taken by governments to tackle this problem.

      The way many people see it, there are two objective reasons for commiting reoffends. 

     Firstly, the prison system itself can make the matters worse. It’s mostly connected with the ‘bad company’: criminals are put together in cells and while they are locked up, they may even plan crimes with other inmates. Secondly, offenders simply do not have any other means of earning money, as they are in crisis, penniless, without proper education skills to maintain a job. What is more, a criminal record makes it difficult to find a job.

     To tackle this problem, the punishment system should have not only a strictly punishing effect, but also an educational one, trying to rehabilitate the criminal behaviors of the offenders.  

     In addition, jails need to have some trainings to help them integrate into society after serving their punishment, change their criminal behavior.

     They can even learn some practical skills, so that can be hired for a position in future. Moreover, the can learn how to use their skills for serving the society after releasing from prisons.

    Besides, there has to be a positive feedback on behalf of the society, as people’s disapproval regarding those with criminal background is sometimes one of the problems of the offenders’ inability of reintegrating into the normal society, turning over a new leaf.

     In conclusion, both sides have to do something about it. The offenders should try their best to prove that they are worth of rehabilitation and the society should give them all the proper chances for this to happen. 

 Reasons to Give Up the Death Penalty

According to Amnesty International, seventy-six countries have eradicated the death penalty completely, and many countries that retain the death penalty have not utilized it for years. Capital punishment should be abolished because of the following: it is not an effective crime deterrent, it may result in the loss of innocent lives, it is morally wrong, and there are other, more humane, alternatives.

The death penalty does not contribute to the deterrence of crime. In fact, the death penalty may actually raise crime rates. Jack Callahan in his “Stop Killing People'  concludes that capital punishment is no more effective than life imprisonment in deterring murder.

Capital punishment is not a viable solution for offenders with mental problems because they are incapable of normal thought processes and many cannot even grasp the concept of death.

The death penalty puts innocent lives at stake. It is widely recognized that justice system is not perfect. There are times when people are wrongly accused of crimes or they are not granted fair trials. There is still corruption in our justice system, and bias and discrimination occur. In the same article Jack Callahan claims that since 1970, 76 people have been released from death row because of clear evidence of their innocence.

The government has no right to put conditions on human life. Helen Prejean, author of "Executions are too costly--Morally," encapsulates this idea in her essay when she says "Allowing our government to kill citizens compromises the deepest moral values upon which this country was conceived: the inviolable dignity of human persons".When the government or individuals make the decision to take another human life and act upon it, they commit murder. Moreover, it contradicts with morality and consistent ethic of life. Thus, James Megivern is his book ‘The Death Penalty’ says: ‘Punishment, Yes, Death, No…Every person has universal, inviolable, inalienable rights. Basic to all is the Right to Life.”

The death penalty sends a confusing and contradictory message "Don't kill or we will kill you."  Punishing an action with the same action is incongruous and inconsistent. It only serves to confuse and reinforce the behavior rather than correct it.

Capital punishment is not necessary because there are other alternatives. First of all, tougher sentencing would help deter offenders from committing crimes. Longer jail time for felons and first-time offenders would keep them from entering society until they were able to rehabilitate. In addition, life sentences would prevent violent offenders from reoffending. Also, keeping convicts in prison is cheaper than executing them, so it is a better alternative. Requiring inmates to pay for their time in prison would further reduce the cost to taxpayers. Allocating a portion of a prisoner's earnings toward facility expenses and programs would force them to literally "pay" for their crimes. Although money can never replace a loved one or completely heal the damage, it could help families reconstruct their lives. There are more constructive alternatives to the death penalty.

Human life is precious, yet society does not hesitate to cast it aside into a system that is mediocre at best, without remorse. Capital punishment does not deter crime, cannot ensure the safety of the innocent, and is morally deficient. There are other alternatives. Murderers and violent offenders deserve to be punished for their crimes, and victims and their families deserve justice. However, the death penalty is not the answer.

Many other countries have eradicated the death penalty for this reason. The countries that have abolished capital punishment have substantially lower crime rates.

                             A night in the summer forest

    With the hectic pace of everyday’s life, we can hardly imagine how it is to plunge into the endless verdure, feel the breath of fresh air on your face, smell divine fragrance of flowers, have a walk on winding paths all the time listening to the sounds of singing birds and bubbling brooks. And all this you can find in the forest. Summer nights are particularly full of sound. If you had a chance to be a part of its night magic, you are a lucky person – the same I can say about myself.

Usually it’s a very quiet and tranquil place, chorus frogs mostly what you hear, with the occasional owl’s howling and hooting, buzzing insects. Sometimes being lulled by the forest’s lullaby, you may be awakened by sudden wolves’ howling or high-pitched squeaks of bats. Even more, your heart starts pounding quickly as you hear rustling in the bush or someone’s squelch at the distance.  Then all voices fade back into black silence. With the break of dawn, the sunlight penetrating the trees and birds singing will tell you that the brand new day has come.

Who do I take after?

    As we all know, many traits and features  have a large hereditary component and it’s easy to spot similarities between children and parents. Comparing my appearance to my mother’s or father’s, I can say that we are alike in many ways. First of all, it concerns the colour of my hair and skin which I inherited from my mom – she has the same blonde straight hair and fair skin. In summer we usually have a bit freckled skin. Both of my parents are round-faced, so it’s not surprising that I take after them. What I take after my dad is the colour of eyes – we are both green-eyed, whereas my mom has blue eyes. In addition, my mom says that my build is similar to my father’s. Speaking about the height, my parents are the people of the average height, but I am noticeably taller than my mother.

What else? Perhaps, side knows better ;)