Justice Should Be Seen To Be Done

David Howarth at The Grauniad’s CiF seems to think there is something wrong with the public humiliation of criminals.

My comment:

Just hang on a moment. Have you ever wondered why most people do not commit crimes? For most of them, the middle-classes and what used to be called the respectable working class, it is less a fear of being caught than a fear of ‘what the neighbour’s might think’. Fear of public shame is a very strong deterrent, especially in a tight community.

This is probably why punishments always used to be public and had a fair amount of humiliation – public shaming – as an element to them, such things as the stocks and so forth.

Not only was the miscreant punished it was also a chance for the wider society to show their disapproval of the criminal’s actions. It also clearly demonstrated to the rest of the society what would happen to them if they overstepped the mark too.

There is that oft-quoted remark by Lord Hewart: “…is of fundamental importance, that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.”

That this should also apply to the punishment of the offender, not only to the court proceedings, seems to be an important point. A point which seems to have been lost over recent decades where prison and other forms of punishment have become – as in the case of Fletcher in Porridge – just an occupational hazard of being in the criminal classes, rather than a deeply shaming, humiliating and humbling experience that one ought to attempt to avoid repeating at all costs.