Crime and Punishment

Crime and punishment

"A true sense of accountability before God renders one cautious to such an extreme degree that one begins to avoid crime under any circumstances," says Maulana Wahiduddin Khan."

“The business of legislature,” writes Bertrand Russell “is to pro­duce harmony between public and private interests. It is in the interest of the public that I should abstain from theft, but it is not to my interest except where there is an effective criminal law. Thus, the cri­minal law is a method of making the interests of the individual coincide with those of the community.” Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy. (pp 741-42).

Fear of punishment alone can prevent man from committing crime. The study of human society reveals the fact that wherever there is no fear of punishment there is no means to prevent man from committing crimes. That is why laws to punish criminals have been formulated everywhere.

A study of different communities shows that not only can man be restrained from committing crime without an effective criminal law, but also that he manages, somehow or the other to find an escape from the laws and saves himself from being punished for the offence. Man’s brains, wealth and resources often come to his rescue.

This state of affairs calls for more effective and far-reaching laws than purely human constraints, which have succeeded only partially in the prevention of crime. Man can never abstain from it unless he is sure of being brought before a court the judgment of which is ineluct­able. A true sense of accountability before God renders one cautious to such an extreme degree that one begins to avoid crime under any circumstances. This sense of accountability to God serves not only as a preventive measure but also is an insurance that one will not escape punishment if one has committed an offence.

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