What Theory of Punishment Do You Follow?

A thought-provoking and introspective image depicting a gavel, scales of justice, and abstract representations of morality and ethics, with a diverse group of people discussing punishment and justice.

Explore Your Views on Punishment

Have you ever thought about how you feel about punishment in different scenarios? This quiz will guide you through a series of thought-provoking questions designed to help you explore your beliefs about justice, accountability, and rehabilitation.

Join us to discover:

Your stance on issues like the death penalty and drug use
How you perceive punishment vs. rehabilitation
What your opinions reveal about your views on justice

6 Questions2 MinutesCreated by ReflectingJustice57

Someone has gotten caught drinking and driving multiple times. This time, they killed another driver. What should their punishment be, and why?

They should be given the same punishment as a murderer, because they deserve it for acting so recklessly.

They should be permanently banned from driving ever again because they can’t be trusted to not endanger other people’s lives.

On top of whatever punishment they receive, they should be required to attend a support group for alcoholism and take a class on the science and effects of alcohol, because that will help teach them why their actions were so reckless, and it will give them the tools to change their behavior.

They should be given a very harsh punishment like 20 years in prison because that will show them and others that this kind of behavior is not worth the risks.

They should have to listen to victim’s family talk about how this has impacted their life, and do some kind of community service like taking care of the road-side memorials who people who died in car accidents, because this will help them give back to the community that they harmed.

When is the death penalty ethically justified?

It’s never justified unless someone shows absolutely no remorse for a heinous crime, because in that case we know there’s no hope of them changing.

It’s justified when it will scare others away from committing the same crime.

It’s justified when a criminal has done something incredibly heinous (like rape or murder), because they’re such a danger to society.

It’s justified when a criminal has done something incredibly heinous (like murder or torture) because if they refuse to respect other people’s humanity, then they deserve to have their own humanity (life) taken away.

It’s never justified because more death never heals anything or creates a better world.

Should people be punished for using a drug like heroin?

No because punishment doesn’t stop the root cause of why people want to use a life-destroying drug like heroin in the first place.

Yes if that scares other people away from ever trying heroin.

Yes because they need to be protected from their own bad decisions.

No because punishment won’t help them break their addiction; only treatment programs will.

Yes unless they’re addicted; you deserve to be punished for willfully breaking a law, but addicts’ freewill is compromised.

How much should people be fined for speeding?

People should be fined more for higher speeds, because we need to get the most dangerous drivers off the road.

People should be fined more for higher speeds, and more if their income is more, because higher speed crashes cause more damage, but we shouldn’t be hurting poor people more with our fines.

People should be fined very high amounts, so that it discourages from even considering speeding.

Instead of being fined, people should be forced to go to driver safety classes.

People should be fined based on how much income they make, because everyone deserves to have a fine that ‘hurts them’ the same relative amount.

If someone murdered your loved one for money, what punishment would you advocate for, and why?

Not the death penalty, because that won’t heal the wound that crime has caused.

Death penalty because they’re a menace to society.

Death penalty because they destroyed a human life that’s infinitely valuable.

Death penalty because you don’t want anyone else to go through what you have.

Not the death penalty, because even a murderer can potentially turn their life around.

What should be the penalty for a student arriving late to class in college?

They shouldn’t be allowed to enter class once lecture has started, because that will be disruptive to others.

They shouldn’t get any credit for work done that day, because it’s not fair to the students who did show up on time.

They should not be penalized, because they’re trying to learn and be a part of the class, so they should not be cut off from that.

They should have to explain to the professor why they’re late, and if it’s not because of something outside of their control, they should have to write a short paper on what they’ll do differently next time.

They shouldn’t get any credit for work done that day, so that they and other students aren’t incentivized to keep showing up late.

What Theory of Punishment Do You Follow?

Explore Your Views on Punishment

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