Crime and society can never be set apart from each other. It is the aggravation of crime in society that has lead to the formation of more stringent laws on both national and international level. But, is crime existent in society because of the society? Can criminals never improve? Doesn’t everybody deserve a chance? These questions are asked by prisoner’s right activists who aim for humanistic treatment of these criminals. The article aims to provide data on how far the reformative theory of punishment has been able to reach its aimed goal. India follows the reformative theory of punishment but, what is the sustainability of this reformation of criminals? The law of the country provides for mechanisms that help establish a reformative system of punishment but is that sufficient? This article has covered various ways used by other countries for better and effective reformative techniques which help control recidivism in the criminals. This article aims to broaden the idea propagated by Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”. The article attempts to answer the question, “Are criminals born or are they formed?” Did Durkheim put it the right way, “If there is something wrong in the society, criminality is a response to that?” This article attempts to make criminal justice system more than about crime and punishment and promote internal and mental healing of all involved in a criminal activity.
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