God's Laws vs. Man's Laws
God's Laws, such as the ones brought by Moses and Prophet Muhammad, have been misused in many societies. Still they have great merits when they are properly implemented.
When a crime has been committed by a person and it is certain that it was committed by him, then it should be considered if this was the first time. If so, most probably the punishment should be as lenient as possible. If that person is also repentant and promises never to do it again, he should be freed.
If the crime is repeated, then the punishments recommended by Moses and Muhammad (Divine Laws) have greater merits than the present systems. In the present systems, first, the prisons gradually destroy the spirit and most men are destroyed mentally through the process. Secondly, to keep the prisons going is costly.
By quick physical or financial punishments, which are recommended by Divine Laws, a person will receive the result of his action, is punished, and most probably will not do it again. Also it is a quick response to the crime committed. So the spirit will not be destroyed in the process of a long imprisonment, and with no prisons there also will not be much expense.
However, as explained all through our writings, we have to create just societies first, and the judges should be so in tune with the Divine Justice that they would be flexible enough to bring justice to any individual cases. Otherwise no matter which law is used, it can be misused and justice will not be!
To emphasize, the present prison systems are worse than physical or financial punishments recommended by Divine Laws. The Divine Laws might hurt a person physically or financially, but the prison system destroys the spirit which is much greater than the physical body or financial well-being.
Probably the best approach is to give a person a chance of choosing between a physical and/or financial punishment or imprisonment.
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