Essay

  When we watch the news, we can see that a lot of crimes are committed. Sometimes the sentences are different for the same kind of crime. So this is very controvercial among people, Some people claim there should be fixed punishments for each type of crime and others clam the circumstances should be into account.
  If the punishments are fixed, there are several merits. For example, in China a person who is related to drug dealing(trade), will be sentenced to the death penalty. Also, corrupt politicians and civil servants who are given bribes can't avoid the death penalty. And actually these punishments have been very effective in preventing those kinds of crime. And above all it can prevent authorities from misusing or abusing their powers to remove the people who are against them.
  But judges are not exactly know-all and perfect people and modern society has evolved into a democracy. Modern society and democratic countries are so complicated, we could be involved in a crime or an accident that is no fault of our own. In this case the truth has to be revealed through the court and trial. Of course this system is also misused by the people. For example, in France if a man who kills another man claims this happened for a woman that he loves, the sentence can be reduced. And, in Korea if a persom commits a crime in a drunken condition, the sentence can also be reduced. But becuase of this reason, I think we shouldn't give up taking into account the circumstances. Because this is the only way of preventing us becoming a criminal. The law is made by men and this has evolved from a lot of cases and judges are also human so they could make mistakes.
  The purpose of law is to prevent crime and keep the order, not to punish. We are living in a democratic society and the rule of democracy is based on protecting human rights. So to prevent the country from abusing their power and protect the human rights I think that we have to be eclectic both side of views.