Saturday, November 2, 2019
Inferno vs Justice System
I just realized that while talking about criminal justice system, we are also learning about the punishments of Dante’s Inferno. Coincidence? I think not!! The justice system is supposed to be about reform, but it is more about proving an example and punishing these people. This is similar to Inferno in that there a specific punishment for every type of crime, except, I like the Inferno a lot better for entertainment purposes. Although a life sentence may seem harsh to us, Dante’s Inferno lasts an infinity. It’s a never ending circle of pain and suffering for anyone who ends up there, but this may actually be more similar to prisoners than what meets the eye. People that end up with life long sentences or in solitary confinement often compare their lives to a life in Hell. They endure psychological pain and torment, and are often hopeless about the future. They can’t find purpose in this meaningless circle of prison cells and courtyards. All rights are taken away, and they wish for a better existence, just like the poor souls in Hell in Dante’s Inferno.
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I've realized this as well. A life sentence within the justice system could be drawn as a parallel to the life sentence in hell. Both are meant to be punishments towards those who have “done wrong”. Obviously, a life sentence in hell is eternal, but what if inmates who die in jail end up in hell, and continue to live out their life sentence being forever tortured in hell? I’m sure prison has been described by using the word hell by people who have spent a significant amount of time there. If you take into account all the horrible things that happen in prison and the way prisoners are actually tortured, prison is essentially a type of hell that is above ground. It’s our own personal hell on earth.
Dante's Hell is arguably the worst criminal justice system imaginable in terms of fairness. The Inferno shows us a justice system that punishes people for the sake of punishing them. While a prison on Earth might seem like hell, by comparison those on Earth receive zero punishment. The eternity of Hell means that any suffering dealt on Earth is in no way comparable to that endured in Dante's Hell as it pales in comparison to the eternal extent of the suffering endured in Hell. Hell, as described by Dante, shows the worst a justice system can possibly offer, as the punishments are neither rehabilitation nor proportional.
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