Is it Time to Reconsidering Corporal Punishment?

Caning is being whipped across the lower back with a special rattan rod by specially trained “ass whippers.” It was said many Singapore criminals preferred serving time in prison than receiving a “caning.” Look it up on YouTube. I have often written about the island nation of Singapore, with a population of 6 million people. It’s a nation with one of the lowest crime rates in the world. They have a traditional criminal punishment called “Caning.” Caning is a widely used form of corporal punishment in Muslim nations that practice Sharia law. It seems to be a very effective crime prevention tool in those cultures.

I understand the horrifying images of slaves being whipped into submission and the photos of keloid-striped slave backs. However, I believe there needs to be another means to mete out punishment for criminal behavior beyond solitary confinement. I wonder if an inmate would rather have solitary confinement or a caning? I am certainly not suggesting that caning in the penitentiary is a panacea to make caged men submit to their circumstance, but it might be more effective than driving men insane by solitary confinement. The mental scar of solitary confinement lasts longer on a person’s psyche than the temporary sting of the cane. Just saying, a little food for thought.

Last week, I saw a news story about a South Carolina death row inmate who was convicted of bludgeoning to death the parents of a former girlfriend in 2001. He was given the option of execution methods, and he chose to be executed by a firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair. That was the first first time in 15 years a firing squad was used to put a person to death in the U.S.

My thought is almost unthinkable, but imagine if there were caning in American jurisprudence. I understand corporal punishment was ruled “Cruel and Unusual” by the Supreme Court in 1978. But is it cruel? What is cruel? Was it cruel when my father whipped me with a belt when I was a bad kid? It was when I was guilty of something. Was me receiving a whipping by a guardian of my well-being “unusual” in society? I think not.

Now, I’m going to say something that might sound archaic and barbaric to 99% of those reading this. It almost seems unthinkable to even suggest with a straight face, but I’m going to say it anyway. That story led my mind down a rabbit hole in criminal justice matters. One of the top stories of the week is the labor strike by N.Y.S. Correctional officers who are illegally striking and jeopardizing their jobs over a variety of disputes. From my understanding, their big issue is the state law that limits solitary confinement as a means of inmate control. I think I get it.

The question is: how do you discipline the undisciplinable? Today’s urban youth think of going to jail as a red badge of honor that gives them “street cred” to be accepted into the ghetto-culture. I bet if there were the possibility of getting a literal ass whipping as punishment, that would change their perspective on entering the criminal justice system. Who knew? To be honest, I didn’t know execution by firing squad was still a thing. It seems archaic and old school, but it’s a cheap and surefire way to kill someone.

Let me know if this works for you!