Justice served by making punishment fit crime
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
14 Sep 2003
Neither man showed any remorse during the four month trial, and they manifested their contempt for the proceedings by refusing to stand when receiving their sentences.
Media reports are describing these crimes as the worst serial murders in Australian history. The case certainly is a horrifying example of cold-hearted calculation and cruelty. That the victims were often very vulnerable people, sometimes relatives of the perpetrators, adds to the horror. This depth of evil is rare. Most prisoners have also been sinned against.
There is no doubt that the trial has been conducted in an exemplary fashion and that the verdicts and sentences are just. Many people would argue that in extreme cases like this and the Bali bombing, especially with unrepentant killers, the death penalty should be applied. But justice is better served by forcing serious criminals to live with the consequences of their actions. This is just what a life sentence does.
In his 1995 encyclical letter “The Gospel of Life”, Pope John Paul II restated Catholic teaching on the death penalty. Execution for even the worst offenders should only be available when there are no other effective means of defending people’s safety and the public order.
In countries like Australia which have effective prison systems, this situation is practically non-existent, especially when offenders receive sentences appropriate to the seriousness of their crimes.
For most prison is another world. Most know little about what goes on “inside” and what we hear often confirms our worst fears: but the situation is mixed. The worst sections of prison are the closest we come to hell on earth. But misfits often want to return to low-level prisons.
Making the punishment fit the crime is difficult, because the number of prisoners usually expands or contracts to match the number of prison places. Calling for more prisons and harsher penalties wins votes in the short term, but rarely brings much improvement in the prisoners or society generally. Transportation was a failure.
Reformatories for young offenders are absolutely necessary, but few young prisoners emerge from prison as better people.
Rehabilitation remains an important goal, perhaps the most important goal of any policy or prison. This is not an alternative to punishment or deterrence, but it is an important litmus test for a decent society. Only a minority of ex-prisoners seem to return to productive life in society but every person improved is far better than more and more confirmed in their bitterness and hatred of society by harshness or injustice.
The Snowtown murderers are not typical offenders. The punishment they deserve is not generally what is needed.
