Some people naturally behave badly and commit either serious crimes or minor offences. However, in prisons, for example criminals are forced to be good using the aim of punishment called reform. This means that they teach the criminal to change their state of mind, and to replace their heart with a good and kind one. But, is reform right? Or should we just leave the person in the way which they are physically programmed to? This is a big question, which needs answering.
Being forced to be someone who you’re not isn’t fair; people should behave in a free manner as at they know the consequences. Why should society change some ones personality just to make public happy? We shouldn’t always blame the criminal or person for the way in which they conduct themselves as they could be hugely influenced by their home life and surrounding. Some people living on the streets, for example, purposely commit a crime and want to be caught just to have a roof to live under and food to eat which they don’t have access to daily. For example there was an incident in Norway a couple of years ago where there was an attack on an island and the attacker killed children and many other people on this camp. However the community didn’t want the person who committed the murder to be put inside or punished in any way. They wanted to keep their society in a specific way as they didn’t want their process to be in the similar way of China. They wanted to keep a tradition. The bombs which the criminals let off, smashed all the windows of shops surrounding the island, the local glass company offered to replace the windows free of charge. This community is an example of people who accept the fact that they cannot change the damage which has been done to the families; they don’t think there would be a benefit of using any of the aims of punishment.
But some might say that we are actually forced in everyday life to be good. For example when at school, you know that you have behave well or else you will be punished therefore we are forced to be at our best conduct. When in a shop and you really like an item of clothing, but you don’t have enough money you know that you cannot steal it so you simply walk out of the shop without the product, you are also forced as there is high security and CCTV. The consequences which we know are at risk cause us to act well. We are all subconsciously forced to do things all day every day. People who believe in God are also forced by the belief that God watches your everyday move and because you want to go to heaven you are well behaved to impress him. However some say that God has already decided who is to go to heaven and who is to go to hell, so what is the point in trying so hard to be good when he has already made up his mind? Reform is a great way to protect more people being hurt by the criminal. If you use the Ludovico Technique then it would fulfill all the aims of punishment. Deterrence would be met as it is such a cruel system that no-body would want to be also put through the same thing. Reform as the person would have had a change of heart from then on. As it hurts the criminal retribution would also be satisfied. No other innocent people would be hurt by the criminal so protection would also be rewarded.
To conclude I personally believe that being forced to be good isn’t ethically right. It is better to be free to be bad as this is the way the person was born and should behave in that way as they were born in that manner and their genes cause them to act in that way. Even if you were to use the Ludovico Technique you wouldn’t even be fulfilling reform as you would be only changing their attitude mentally and not physically in the heart as the reform specification states.
