Thus if the argument against ever punishing the guilty criminal is to be at all persuasive, it must be shown that the sickness which afflicts all criminals must affect their actions in a way in which they are prevented from ever acting differently (Wasserstrom 572). This statement brings us to think about compulsive behavior. The argument may be believable if we thought all criminal acts occurred as a result of compulsive behavior. There is no evidence that everyone who commits a crime is doing so because of a compulsive disorder. Therefore, this claim stands without merit.
Another concern about rehabilitating criminals without punishing them is the leniency we will give to the offenders who commit heinous criminal acts. "The percentage of homicides involving multiple offenders rose dramatically in the late 1980's and early 1990's increasing from 10 percent in 1976 to 18 percent in 2000" ("Prosecution Statistics"). We cannot allow these offenders the privilege of not receiving their just due. .
Almost 60 percent of the 234,000 convicted sex offenders are on parole or probation. Sex offenders are substantially more likely than other violent offenders to be rearrested for a new violent sex offense. Approximately eight percent of 2,214 rapist released from prisons in 11 states were rearrested for a new rape within three years. Rates of rape and sexual assault are highest among men and women 16 to 19 years old. An estimated 15 percent of imprisoned rapists and 45 percent of those sentenced to prison for other sexual assaults (statutory rape, forcible sodomy, and molestation) said their victims were 12 years old or younger. ("Prosecution Statistics").
This is a catastrophe. We, as a people, want to keep these criminals out of our communities, and our children out of harm's way. These malicious acts of rape, sexual assault, and murder are reason enough to have harsher punishments over the issue of rehabilitation.