The finger cut by the law hurts a lot

Our legal system is also rote. We cannot explain it. We talk about crime and punishment policy, but it is in vain. Determining crime and punishment is not just a matter of morality or ethics. Economic, social, and even psychological conditions are also influential, and in fact, they should often be more influential. 

As almost everyone who visits prisons can see, even newly built prisons are not enough. Let alone being rehabilitated, inmates cannot find room to breathe or sleep. I hope not every prison is like this. 

On the other hand, if we look at what is reflected on social media, quite a few people who should be thrown into prison are walking around outside. Those who terrorize traffic, rapists who prey on children and women in dark corners, those who run gambling and betting operations, money launderers, terrorists... Of course, all these people must be tried fairly. However, catching, prosecuting, and ensuring these people serve their sentences is also a matter of policy. 

We must review our laws, regulations, and resources. Otherwise, the price of our lack of foresight will not just be an inhumane penal execution regime. Justice will collapse entirely. 

To be able to catch and convict money launderers and those who run gambling and betting operations, the hands that will ensure justice must be cleaned. To cope with the power of the owners of the crime economy, an effective and strong but controllable law enforcement and judicial system is needed. It is clear that we are very far from this. 

Let us assume that law enforcement and judicial members are superheroes. But what about our penal code? Are we satisfied? 

Let us look at Articles 142 and 228 of the Turkish Penal Code. Fairness is dying. According to TPC Article 228, "a person who provides a place and facilities for gambling shall be punished with imprisonment from one to three years and a judicial fine of not less than two hundred days." How deterrent, right? Let us also look at a crime that a thief who is in economic and social distress might commit. For example, according to TPC Art. 142, a thief who steals property left in the open due to custom, allocation, or use—for example, cutting a cable that is in an idle state—is given 3 to 7 years in prison. While someone who steals 5 pairs of shoes gets a 7-year sentence, someone who runs a gambling operation, has long arms, and makes tons of money can get away with a judicial fine. 

What about money launderers? What about drug barons? It is almost impossible to even hand them over to the judiciary. The public conscience is bleeding. Justice pays its zakat with those caught for petty crimes. 

As someone who believes in the law, let me give my warning. Even if the scales of justice are broken, let us not commit crimes. Let us not be a burden on the trembling body of justice.