Many people believe that having a fixed punishment for crimes is more efficient. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having fixed punishment?

Punishing people who commit crimes is crucial to maintaining law and order in a society. Some people believe that there should be a fixed
punishment
for each
crime
. Others disagree. In their opinion, factors
such
as the motive behind the
crime
too should be considered while deciding on the
punishment
.
Although
I agree that people who commit crimes should be given exemplary
punishment
, in my opinion, the judge should
also
consider the circumstances that led to the
crime
. If there is a fixed
punishment
for each
crime
, all people who commit murder will get the same
punishment
.
This
system will certainly improve judgement efficiency. Since the
punishment
for each
crime
has already been given in law books, judges only have to pronounce the verdict.
Also
when the punishments are consistent with regulations established previously, there will be fewer law conflict. Unfortunately, the above arguments in favour of a fixed
punishment
are not as logical as they sound. Human behaviour is almost always influenced by circumstances.
Crime
is no different. It is possible for two people who commit murders to have entirely different motives. Perhaps one of them committed the act with the deliberate intention to kill while the other was merely trying to save himself from the attacker while committing the murder accidentally. If there are fixed punishments for murder, both of them will receive the same
punishment
.
This
is unfair. It is
also
unfair to give juveniles the same
punishment
as adults. It is
thus
evident that serious ethical issues may arise if fixed punishments are given for each
crime
. In my opinion, while awarding the
punishment
the judge should consider not only the severity of the
crime
but
also
the circumstances that led to it. To conclude, it does not make sense to have fixed
punishment
for each
crime
because no two persons who commit the same
crime
have the same motive.
Submitted by Simran on

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