Societal protection, a specific function of punishment, is a way to control deviance and to protect society by locking up offenders temporarily for a period of time in a prison, or permanently by executing them via the death penalty. There are different degrees of punishment for varying degrees of crime, so there are three different ways to punish offenders: prisons, the death penalty, and community-based corrections programs.
Community-based corrections are forms of punishment that operate outside of jails and prisons, aimed at reform rather than just mere incarceration. There are several kinds of community-based corrections:
IN CONTEXT
Sometimes people get sentenced to life without parole, although this is rare and unlikely. Even ‘life sentences’ don't mean life. Sometimes a life sentence actually translates to 13 years, or 26 years, etc. A governing body decides what the actual term of the life sentence is, and if you behave well in prison, you can be released on parole--it is a very common part of the rehabilitation process.
In addition to protecting society, punishment also performs the role of reducing criminal recidivism, which is repeated criminal offenses. Any offense after your initial offense is an example of criminal recidivism. The U.S. has a very high rate of criminal recidivism, because jails are often hostile places that don't function to reform convicts in the way that society intends.
EXAMPLE
If you recall the Stanford Prison Experiment, you can see how the prison becomes a very hostile place and not conducive to rehabilitation.The U.S. also has high rates of criminal recidivism because crime is socially and culturally patterned. Certain people, for social and cultural reasons, are more likely to be criminals than others.
The final and most severe form of societal protection is the death penalty. The death penalty is defined as sentencing someone to death because of severe crimes that they committed. The death penalty is a morally debated topic, with advocates on both sides.
IN CONTEXT
Not every state in the country has the death penalty. The states of California, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Texas have put the most people to death. Research suggests that the death penalty may not deter crime in the way that the criminal justice system intends, which provides. ammunition for those who oppose the death penalty.
The death penalty is also unevenly applied. A recent study found that convicts of color were more likely to be sentenced to death than white people of equivalent criminality.
EXAMPLE
If there's a case involving a white man who murders a white woman and a similar case involving a black man who murders a white woman in a similar fashion, this study found that the black man is more likely to be sentenced to death row. This makes the case against the death penalty because racial prejudices can affect the outcome, even though that is not supposed to happen according to due process.Source: This work is adapted from Sophia author Zach Lamb.