Many assume that the consequences of punishment did not benefit to the society or criminals. The authors of ‘Supermax Prisons Myths, Realities, and the Politics of Punishment in American Society’, Pizarro, J.M., Stenius, V.M.K., & Pratt, T states that the effects of justifications of punishment on this society have negative impact. They actually damaged the social balance. People are more around the issues of retribution than clearing the crime off from the face of society. The solutions like retribution an deterring aggravated the sense of criminal behavior. Such justification types will not allow the society to find a solution to the deviant behavior that causes offenders to commit these crimes.
In U.S., the prisons such as Supermax prisons are not helped for prisoners’ rehabilitation but helped in further isolating criminals from society. This will create mental agony and aggravate the deviant behavior. Such facilities and practices are not in a position to rehabilitate the offenders completely but making them become a repeat offender.
As President Bush stated in his 2004 State of the Union Address, “This year, some 600,000 inmates will be released from prison back into society. We know from long experience that if they can’t find work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely to commit crime and return to prison…
America is the land of second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.” This thought alarms for the more seriousness in the justification for punishments. Justifications for punishment such as retribution, deterrence and social protection are doing nothing much than making a brand to the offenders that hinder them to involve in the social life. Unless the society is ready with a broad sense of mind to really rehabilitate the offenders with right employment and other facilities, the society is not going to taste the fruit of its justification for punishment efforts. The research sums up that retribution could not help much to the America society; neither the deterrence. But rehabilitation has a bit higher effect in reducing the crime as this aims in not only changing thought of crime from the offenders but also capacitates them to flow as social members. Though social protection is aimed at protecting the society, it can not hold the criminals within the same condition for a long time. So as an alternative or parallel rehabilitation should be done effectively to deter crime from society.