What are the limits of punishment?

What are the limits of punishment?

Last week we had the opportunity to watch a short film called WhiteBear. The plot of the film involved a group of individuals whose purpose was to make a young woman suffer for the crime she committed against a little girl. Reflecting on the scenario, I do not agree with the form of punishment that was given to the woman, which involved a repeated day full of chasing and threatening. Throughout the day, the woman was confused because her memory was erased to increase fear. However, the treatment she receives is unhuman because she is being deprived of her general rights such as freedom. For instance, the group in charge of the justice park refused to let her free and would make her repeat the day without regret thinking that she deserved to suffer. Another thing is that as humans we cannot judge or punish each other because we all have committed an immoral act at some point in our lives. Moreover, the justice park is not accomplishing its goal, which is to make the woman regret her actions because every day her memory is erased and therefore is unable to reflect on her past behavior.

Analyzing the punishment towards the woman, made me think of the limits on punishment. For example, in many states, capital punishment has been eliminated because is considered cruel and ineffective as the criminal is not offered the opportunity to reflect on his/her acts. However, others think that whoever kills deserves to be killed. This form of thinking is the same one that members of the justice park shared and in the end, they were causing more suffering. Therefore, I think the goal of punishment should be to change the behavior of the individual for good without causing suffering. In the case of the woman, she was constantly reminded of her bad actions and ridiculed for them, but was never guided to the right path. Furthermore, the goal of a real justice park should be to recover individuals by having them do exercises of reflection.

Overall, punishment should not be perceived as a negative act, but rather as a positive reinforcement that is used to make an individual better. Unfortunately, as humans, we quickly want to use violence to get rid of violence, instead of peace. By watching this film, I realized that everyone deserves a second chance in life and be part of society again.