Compassion or Conviction for Criminals
People must see that politics of showing compassion or choosing conviction, whether they like it or not, regardless the decision it will impacts every aspect of society.
The political process is used to create laws for order. Should the law always be used to convict or rehabilitate? Does showing compassion lead to the misuse, and sometimes abuse of the justice system? Should criminals be shown compassion for their offenses that are obvious bad life choices?
Should the justice system resort to Timshel, which is used in the bible to translate as “thou mayest,” implying that the opportunity to exercise free will. It is not a command or an order. Timshel allows for free choice of one’s moral destiny and recognizes that each of us is capable of redemption.
The Bible explains in 1st John chapter 3, about love, being more than words, that if your neighbor, brother or sister needs something that you wouldn't just say, 'Bless your heart' — That you would actually do something for them. The question is, What should we do? What is the right way to help a criminal?
Everybody deserves a second chance but people must know that there are consequences to their choices. Simply put compassion and conviction is moral order, empathy for one another, giving second chances and understanding humans sometimes make the wrong choices.
The two primary reasons that we need government is for order and justice. That is one of the primary functions provided by government and since this is the primary purpose that the government serves, justice must be expected. Most people have a religious concept of order that can be applied to society to make the lives of your neighbor better, and to make sure that their human dignity is respected.
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‘A Political View’
By Sherry Holliman SHERRY HOLLIMAN (cont.)
Some criminals are being imprisoned for too long.
The Bible is full of unjust imprisonment. Everybody has convictions, the fact of the matter is laws cannot be created without values.
No law is neutral, any law that you look at came from somebody's values. Can people really separate their faith from their politics?
Doing the right thing should not force a person to be religious but to take measures that are necessary to make sure human dignity is being protected.
Ending unfair sentencing is a step to help do the right thing.
Convictions takes fathers and mothers away from their families among creating other numerous societal issues. When enforcing the law, the poor should be treated like the privileged in the justice system.
There will always be an argument for showing compassion or convicting the blue-collar versus the white-collar criminals in the justice system. It is up to the decision makers responsible for punishing criminals to use those principles and understand that politics and religion touches every household directly. For many years, being tough on crime has been seen as both necessary and politically controlled.
Mandatory sentences and three strikes laws have been routinely passed and almost uniformly viewed as essential tools for creating safer communities.
The rehabilitation and education of individuals who have been convicted or accused of criminal behavior have been dismissed as ineffectual. Next conviction is permanently being labeled an offender once he or she has committed a crime. The irony is that every one of us would be horrified if we were forced to adopt an identity consistent only with the worst thing we have ever done in our lives.
Each of us has done many things that we are embarrassed about and that have hurt other people. Being fallible is part of being human. Not every good person will get caught acting regrettably. People frequently act out of anger or tried to take advantage of a situation to create a benefit for themselves. The government system needs to invest less in new prisons and more in education and employment opportunities in minority neighborhoods.
The system must provide a platform for families to thrive together, rather than tearing them apart through mass incarceration. Would offering rehabilitation to the majority of offenders welcome the chance to atone for mistakes made out of rage or desperation and help offenders move forward? Being tough on crime is easy and politically attractive for some politicians.
Do you believe that our current justice system makes it more difficult to invest time and resources in improving the foundations of our communities?
The option will always be needed to foster compassion within the justice system, not vindictiveness.
Timshel is the path to grace. Too many prosecutors view criminal defendants as less than human and unworthy of sympathy and compassion.
It is easy to be cruel to someone whom you believe is a criminal and nothing else. Do you know what made a good person make a bad choice? Would their experience matter to you?
Sherry Holliman is a concerned citizen of Crittenden County and has some views on a variety of topics that she wants to share with her neighbors. She serves on the Marion City Council.
