Judicial Issues in Chapman’s “The Prisoner’s Dilemma”

World history recounts many differences amidst the East and the West. In shock of the consideration that both are unique in their own coating and tradition, the issue on who is better and more civilized still remains. In The Pris superstarrs Dilemma, Stephen Chapman compares and contrasts Eastern and Western punishment practices under the felon justice system. In his view, the Western claim that their practices are less cruel and barbaric is disputable owing to the issues related to the multiple eld of incarceration.To elaborate his view, Chapman compares the punishment methods apply in Eastern and Western countries. He mentions some punitive practices among Islamic countries such(prenominal) as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Among these practices include flogging, or ta zir, a punishment usually drawn for general offenses. This form of punishment, among others, is endorsed by the script itself. A nonher practice is stoning, which is usually bestowed upon individuals who are found to be adulterous or who engage in non-marital sex.This form of punishment causes severe blemish to offenders, causing their deaths. In the website Religious Tolerance. org, several sketchs on stoning exhibition how Islamic countries apply this practice in varied terms. One report describes how a man dies ten minutes after being kill while his alleged partner is hit by a heroic rock on the head after stoning. In addition to these deuce methods, Islamic countries likewise apply amputation, beheading, and other forms of exe pathion. Considering these, Chapman contends that Islamic ways of punishment are some forms of barbaric rituals. (364)Aside from their hideous method of exterminating criminals, what makes these methods expect more barbaric and cruel is the gathering of the crowd that gawks at the offenders misfortunes. As Chapman illustrates, Westerners smirk at these practices and claim that theirs are furthest more humanitarian. In the West, criminals are sente nced to prison house for varying number of years based on the gravity of the offense. For instance, Chapman elaborates that a person charged with robbery can be sentenced to six or 30 years poundage under the Western juridic system.Based on this, the author implies that a general offense which merits one-time flogging in Islamic countries can toll a persons lifetime in the West. Moreover, he also cites that with the long trials that each case takes and the cost of maintaining a penitentiary, the government spends in like manner much on procuring justice for the victims. Moreover, the author inductively cites that the practices in the East were the same(p) ones practiced in the West during earlier times.He mentions some cases where criminals were cut in several parts, and tortured by bearing off knowledgeable organs while the criminal is in conscious state. Given these antecedent practices, Chapman inclines the readers to reconsider Islamic practices such as those mentioned, w hich are less atrocious than former Western practices. To convince his readers, Chapman uses both comparison and contrast between the two cultures. Mostly, he gives the contrast, emphasizing more the practicality of the Eastern culture in dealing with punishments.Also, by establishing comparison and claiming that Western civilization once assiduous even worse practices of amputation, the author appeals to the logic of the readers to assert the issue with reasonable reasoning. Clearly, Chapman uses logic or logos in his comparison and contrast. He attempts to convince the audience that Western practices are just as evil as the Eastern ones. By impeding criminals to prison, they are likewise lawsuited to overcrowding, illness, filthy check up ons, and subroutine violence.Sentencing a criminal to life in the prison cells is similar to subjecting him to eventual(prenominal) death or to sacrifices similar to flogging. Also, as mentioned above, keeping criminals in prison implies a big government funding, for the government will have to take to the woods and clothe the prisoners, and hire authorities to look after them. Likewise, Chapman claims that prisons do non serve their purpose for detaining individuals. To illustrate his point, he mentions the five functions of imprisonment. Among these functions, Chapman emphasizes that detention does not serve the third function, which is general deterrence.Although some may be cowardly to go to jail, the thought of it does not totally threaten criminals to make them annul ill-doings. The present crime rate demonstrates that in truth, offenders are not scared to go against the law, thus making others like the author skeptical most the observance of the third function. Conversely, he notes that encountering a man with just one arm could bring more shrill to those who are trying to diagram a crime. In addition, the author also points out that imprisonment does not serve its fifth function, that is rehabilitation. Keeping criminals behind bars and making them typesetters case the consequence of acquiring infectious diseases is far from rehabilitative. For others, this function may still be served if criminals are given a better living condition or are endowed by a beautiful experience, such as allowing them to get married, to undergo counseling and psychotherapy, or giving them a job or a vacation (Menninger as mentioned in Chapman 368-369). Considering the disadvantages of imprisonment, sentencing a criminal to keep him from contact with the public seems to be the only quilt that incarceration brings.In addition to logos, the author also uses pity by citing the dilemma experienced by offenders and victims alike. The long wait for the court to give its sentence is one aspect that causes much shame to Western judicial system. spell the case is in process, the victims undergo torment seeing the criminal spend days in freedom. The truth and relevance of this point makes this the subject of TV and film courtroom drama. The same agitation may be true for the criminals or those who are charged but innocent of the crime. As justice is prolonged, so is the torment that the concerned individuals suffer.The use of logos and pathos in establishing comparison and contrast is likewise accompanied by ethos as the article appears in the textbook. The articles introduction includes a dewy-eyed biography of the author, telling his achievements as a writer and a Harvard University graduate. This establishes credibility of the author, thus affecting the audiences stance on the matter. While the logos and pathos that Chapman uses are quite weak to defy apparitional values, the ethos somewhat helps convince the audience that the words they are reading come along from a knowledgeable and well-experienced source.Overall, the points made by the author show his prepossession to Western practices. He tries to convince the audience to favor Eastern practices ascribable to their practic ality and immediacy. Considering his point, authorities should look into the possibility of adopting these practices however considering too how people oppose to changes, Chapmans proposition may fail to convince many people, curiously those who advocate love and reverence for the body.