Crime and Punishment

The following text uses crime and punishment vocabulary as a way of practicing my English writing:

 

I have a story to tell you, you’ll never believe what happened. Yesterday, I was watching the news when I heard the story of a man who was arrested for armed robbery at a jewelry store. There were witnesses at the scene that told the officer that the criminal had threatened every customer and employee inside the store with a weapon, everyone was terrified. He then went to steal several expensive watches.

 

Later that afternoon, through social media I found more information about the robbery. The authorities had reported that the thief had already a lengthy criminal record that included drug trafficking as well. In the comments a local resident explained that he knew the man and that throughout the years he had been hiding packages in his suitcase and had tried to smuggle it across the border. 

 

What happened got me thinking on the punishments these kinds of people deserve for their illegal endeavors that make them rethink their actions and avoid repeated offenses on their count. While crimes like vandalism, often not having tragic effects on other people, can be lightly punished like for example receiving community service. Other more severe crimes such as drunk driving that endanger not only the responsible person but the people around them should be more severely punished not only with fines but with a license suspension. 

 

Furthermore, crimes that entail injuries or even deaths should absolutely lead to time in prison given the awful consequences and the cost of lives. Each punishment should be proportionate to the extent of the actions leading to adequate justice and the maintenance of peace.