Rethinking Rehabilitation and Making it Work

Everyone deserves a second chance is a statement I used to believe in not until I experienced the most tragic and gory incident ever, an elderly couple executed by armed robbers just a week before their son's marriage ceremony, this tragic event set the community in unrest because according to people who knew the deceased, they spoke nothing but good about them and also how they have been of ultimate assistance to the community with the little wealth they had because they lived a modest life and was always of assistance to anyone that needed it that they wondered why anyone would want to end the life of such good people.

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Because of this tragic happening, the community went into vigilante mode and in the hunt to find the criminals of this abominable act, I believe If they were caught, they wouldn't have been spared because anyone who has no conscience with a hardened heart capable of taking someone's else life, not minding the grief that he would cause is not worth rehabilitation, those type of criminals deserves to be served their same medicine, I was only close to the bride to be, as she is my cousin while the one who lost his parent was her groom to be, even though I haven't met the couples that were killed before, I felt the pain of the lost, the sorrow that no matter what can never be eradicated, then imagine what those that even knew them, the community and especially their family, how they would feel following such a loss on the same day and time.

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Notwithstanding, some of these criminals change, as we've also heard stories of armed robbers becoming pastors in my country Nigeria, but does that mean that we should keep allowing others to follow the same path because truth be told, my country's rehabilitation center is a joke, to start with, the innocent are convicted every day who get replaced with hardened criminal serving a time for some amount of money, while some hardened criminals take our prison like a vacation center, even the Almighty Kiri Kiri, as long as you have the money to spend, a hardened criminal might even be given first-class treatment in prison, where is the rehabilitation then, rehabilitation is supposed to make them become a better person but how come the moment most of them get released, they are caught right back for same crime.

I believe punishment is a must for their crime, and if it involves life, the punishment should be severe to serve as a deterrent to others wanting to take the same path, if that fear is put into their hearts, then maybe there would be a reduction in such crime rate. Also while serving their punishment, they should be forced to take on vocational training/skills that they can fall back on because most excuse they might want to give is not having any other means of earning, we've seen some advanced countries become successful with this strategy and it is only right that the underdeveloped countries follows same path, reduce the corruption in these correction facilities and treat every prisoner same, not giving special treatment to some, only then will there be hope of rehabilitation, and not what we have going for now.