Some people believe that there should be fixed punishments for each type of crime. Others, however, argue that the circumstances of an individual crime, and the motivation for commiting it , should always be taken into account when deciding on the punishment. Discuss both these views and give yor own opinion.

Being punished for criminal acts is obviously vital in a civilized society. But what is the right way of doing so? Should people know exactly how they are going to be punished, without any possible discount related to motivations and circumstances, or should the sentences be customized for each situation? I think it is important to analyse what could be the reasons behind each position. If all people would be judged just for the action, surely they will know beforehand what they are going to face for a specific felony and maybe that would hinder the

crime

rate. If you know that the fact that you steal a piece of bread, without hurting anyone, would have the same consequences as if you commit an armed robbery, probably you will not take any risks and you will not steal anything at all.

In addition

, knowing that the sentence is decided because of the criminal act itself, can

also

seem more equal. There are a tremendous number of statistics that show that gender, race and social status of the criminal influence a big deal both the jury (that decide if you’re a culprit) and the judges (that decide the punishment).

Also

the recurrence of the

crime

is often seen as a reason to aggravate the punitive measure.

On the other hand

, the intention behind the action should be taken into account. There’s a difference if someone kills a human trying to protect himself, or by accident, than if he really wanted to kill someone because whatever reason. As human being we naturally think that there are circumstances in which a

crime

could be justified, but not forgiven. It has

also

to be considered the age of the perpetrator. If the criminal is a minor it is hard to tell to what extend the decision has been influenced by others or how much he is able to understand the action

committed

a special group delegated to consider some matter

committees

committee

. All in all, I think that even though there could be some benefits in punishing people for the

crime

, we must always take into account the circumstances and motivations behind it. Sadly, there are people who try to use

this

way of sentencing to alleviate their punishment, so maybe the problem relays more on how the attenuation of the sentence is evaluated.