Ethicist
The Ethicist
by Dr Tim Dare
What are the arguments against the idea that the law should only benefit the law-abiding, and that habitual criminals ought not, in the light of common sense and natural justice, be able to claim its protection when it happens to suit them? Norm, Waitara
Common sense is a bit like God in times of war, isn’t it? He always seems to be on our side.
How about this? There is a lot of disagreement about what rights people have. Reasonable people disagree about euthanasia, taxation, abortion, civil unions, and so on. Part of the point of law is to allow us to live together despite such disagreement. We disagree about moral issues, but we at least accept the procedures to make laws about them, and we agree to respect those laws even if we disagree with them.
One of the things that people disagree about is how criminals should be treated, how long their sentences should be, and the like. We settle these disagreements by law, too. We do remove some rights: if they’re in prison they lose rights to liberty, if we fine them they lose the right to their money. But what rights convicted criminals lose isn’t up to individuals, say, Corrections Department staff, any more than decisions about other moral issues (euthanasia, taxation, etc) are up to individuals. Part of the point of law is to take these matters out of individual hands. And that’s not because we owe criminals anything special: it’s because we owe it to one another to respect the law.
Should we deprive criminals of even more rights, perhaps even of the general right to the protection of law? I think there’s a common-sense argument to say no.
A blanket removal of the protection of law would have bad consequences for us law-abiding types, never mind for the crims. Notwithstanding high re-offending rates, most of them will end up back among us. It’s in our interests to convince them that they should obey the laws that make community possible. We’re certainly not giving them any reason to take the law seriously if we decide that it doesn’t apply to them.
