Once a person becomes a criminal, he will always be a criminal. Do you agree or disagree?
Indeed, the topic of crime has become a hotbed of discussion these days, with many people arguing about the never-changing nature of criminals. They believe that as soon as a person makes crime a part of his life, he weans on a rigid discipline of criminal behaviour or, at worst, never rehabilitates for the rest of his life. I disagree with the given viewpoint, as some criminals do change and reintegrate into society successfully.
To begin with, there are some reasonable factors why some people insist on claiming that wrongdoers never change, one of which comes down to a lack of adaptability. While serving a sentence, criminals, depending on the severity of their crimes, tend to be exposed to inhumane conditions such as lack of proper, nutritious, and healthy food, or sometimes, physical punishment. Having experienced these challenges, lawbreakers may find it significantly difficult to adapt to a normal life, which, in turn, leads to a worsening of their attitude, without any noticeable positive alterations. Further distrust of offenders relates to the widespread assumption among the public of how the former stays the same, though there is not always a clear testimony. Precisely, just because there are numerous cases where recidivists, after long years of prison, are released by government officials only to realise that the repeat offenders have yet to change a lot, the public has become more suspicious than ever if these wrongdoers will ever give up their misdeeds. In other words, extrapolation from a majority of prisoners to every offender has just become commonplace, leading people to conclude that “criminals will never change”.
Nevertheless, however appealing those aforementioned criticisms against felons may seem, I argue that it would be a misinterpretation if we were to say ‘no lawbreaker will ever change’. Even though it is hardly likely to change a prisoner who has already got accustomed to breaking the law, hurting other people, and, more importantly, chastisement, there are some people who changed their lives completely after prison. A fitting example in point would be Robert Downey, more commonly known in Marvel as Tony Stark. Though spending several years in prison, from about 1996 to 2000, Robert could back himself up, becoming one of the most favourite actors of youngsters and even adults. Another point worth mentioning is the lack of sufficient knowledge among the community about those put in prison. Simply by a means of manipulation, some can be convinced that all socially deviant people go to jail, and once in prison, inmates’ whole lives can be considered a waste. This prevalent misconception may, in turn, result in the general public stating the permanency of delinquent behaviour in prisoners, ignoring the basic fact that there have been people like Robert Downey, Martin Luther King Jr, etc., who proved mistakes are common for everyone to make, and it is highly possible to correct them.
In conclusion, although some people claim that once one enters a life of crime, he never changes, remaining deviant forever, I would suggest that this popular belief among people can commonly be shaped by lack of knowledge, as there are few examples of criminals who became contributing members of society after a jail sentence. Hence, not everyone stays unchanged, having experienced challenging prison conditions.
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