CJUS 400
Goals and Purposes of the Criminal Law
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CJUS 400
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CJUS 400
The biblical perspective on the purpose of criminal law is relatively different from that of
the criminal justice system. For instance, the scripture defines crime as a violation of a person's
inalienable right, such as the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. According to the
scripture, criminal law should not punish individuals for actions that do not amount to a violation
of inalienable rights because they do not equate to crimes (Fischer, 2020). Instead, those who
engage in sins like hate speech should be corrected and informed about the consequences of such
actions. According to The Bible, Isaiah 1:17, God teaches people to “learn to do right; seek
justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the widow's case" (The
Bible, 2019). I believe the biblical approach to criminal law is just because it aims to restore
justice and teach good values rather than punish people for petty misdeeds.
However, the criminal justice system's actual goals of criminal law are to identify illegal
activities, punish the offenders, deter people from committing crimes, and incarcerate
perpetrators of crimes (Lodi et al., 2021). Although criminal law requires the criminal justice
system to put more effort into educating the would-be offenders and those serving their jail terms
on the consequences of illegal activities, it seems to be concentrating on punishing wrongdoers.
Even though punitive policies effectively deter crimes, I believe that more focus should be put on
restorative justice to address the different needs of both the crime victims and offenders.
In essence, restorative justice should address the negative issues hampering the criminal
justice system's effectiveness as a result of the inefficient application of retributive justice. The
restorative system should aim at repairing the broken relationships between individuals by
making crime offenders take responsibility and accept accountability for their actions. When
wrongdoers realize how their misdeeds affect other people, they become remorseful and focus on
being resourceful members of society (Lodi et al., 2021). Although restoration should empower
the victims and convince offenders to make amends for their actions, it seems unnecessarily
intimidating to offenders even after agreeing to cooperate with victims of their actions.
CJUS 400
References
Fischer, Kahlib J. (2020) "Biblical Principles of Government and Criminal Justice," Liberty
University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 3. Available
at: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/jspp/vol1/iss1/3
Lodi, E., Perrella, L., Lepri, G., Scarpa, M., & Patrizi, P. (2021). Use of Restorative Justice and
Restorative Practices at School: A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of
Environmental Research And Public Health, 19(1), 96.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010096
The Bible. (2019). Appsoup. Available at:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hailey.goodnews.holybible
