Legal Studies Free Essay Sample

Does the criminal law make provision for punishing those who behave negligently although they do not intend to do harm that the law is trying to prevent and why does the criminal law do it? People who harm others out of negligence should be punished according to the criminal law. The main purpose of the criminal law is to protect people’s lives and the property from damage by other individuals.

It should, however, be noted that some offences are so petty that sometimes the law looks down upon them. The term light cases can be used referring to petty offences. c The light cases are, therefore, categorized as civic cases. Such cases always occur as a result of accidents. The offender did not really mean to cause trouble.

Even though the offender did not mean to cause trouble, the offender always feels infringed. The criminal law, therefore, ensures that the offender is compensated so as justice to prevail. Such a system of justice works in two ways. One way is when the law aims to keep people from doing evil. The second aim of this procedure is to compensate the victim. The offended person should feel protected by the law.

Even though the offence committed was as a result of an accident, the law still must take up this case. Such a stand puts pressure on people to live responsibly. One is obligated to be very careful at all times. In such a setup, people also feel secure and protected by the law. For instance, a child could be playing soccer in a neighborhood. If the ball strays and knocks a window of the neighbor, the child could be excused for this accident.

However, the neighbor could not take it kindly. He could feel offended as a result of the breakage. The law, therefore, comes in to protect the victims of the offence and at the same time working to keep people from doing evil. If the law was selective in its approach to offences of this caliber, there would be many people committing offences knowingly, only to declare that they did not intend.