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Recently Mr.

Glen Meyer, a 62-year-old farmer, was convicted of having


bashed another farmer in the face with a truck fuel pump during an
argument. Mr. Meyer could have been sentenced to 2 to 10 years in prison.
Instead the judge, taking into account that Mr. Meyer had an elderly mother
at home with him, gave him probation, but confined him to his home for a
year, allowing him only to keep doctors appointments and to attend church.
In addition, Mr. Meyer had to pay a $7,500 fine and the victims medical
bills, amounting to nearly $10,000. Finally, Mr. Meyer was required by the
judge to post for thirty months a large sign at the end of his driveway,
visible to drivers along the road into town, which reads,

Warning:

A Violent Felon Lives Here. Travel at Your Own Risk. Mr. Meyer has
challenged the imposition of the sign in court.

Is the judges requirement that Mr. Meyer post the sign morally justifiable?
If so, why? If not, why not?

Opinion

I feel that the judges requirement is not morally justifiable

Assumptions

1. That Mr. Meyer is necessarily a violent felon. He may have been


provoked by his fellow farmer to attack. It may have been due to a
rush of blood. He may not necessarily be a beast in day-to-day life.

2. That the sign will make him realize his mistake and make him a calm
person. It may have an opposite effect. He may be subjected to
ridicule, or worse still, social isolation. This will worsen his
problems.

Supporting arguments

1. The main idea behind punishment is to make the criminal realize his
mistake, not to make him suffer. As assumption 2 says, the sign may
have an opposite effect.

2. There are better ways to impart justice in this case. For instance, the
fine on Mr. Meyer could be increased, even if it means more
hardships on him on account of his mothers illness. That would be a
much better punishment as the hardships would make him wish that
he hadnt committed the crime.
Counter arguments

1. Dosent Mr. Meyer deserve that kind of punishment for the heinous
act hes committed?

Mr. Meyer deserves a strict punishment, but the sign is not the way
to go about it. It is infact a very harsh punishment even for the act
that hes committed.

3. Wouldnt Mr. Meyer draw even stronger social rebuke if he was


jailed?

Yes, definitely, but I feel that imprisonment is also not the solution
here. That would also cause his social alienation. Just because the
present sentence is less harsh does not mean that it is the correct
thing to do.

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