I had the honor to call for this initiative, which is found throughout the world. It simply means that instead of sentencing a criminal to imprisonment, the convict should carry out community work.
Many judges have welcomed this line of thinking and started issuing substitute punishments in the hope that others would follow suit.
For example, a substitute punishment for defamation is paying the cost for refurnishing a mosque. Theft, alcohol and drug-related crimes should be punished by making the convict work a certain number of hours at a hospital.
A drug user should be asked to learn how to read and write if he is illiterate, or given any other relevant punishment.
A convict could be asked to pay a fine in lieu of serving a prison sentence, perhaps SR1,000 a day once the equivalent jail term has been calculated. This money could be given to widows and people eligible for Zakat.
Since these punishments are not stipulated in the law, they are left to the discretion of the judge, who should take into consideration the age, cultural background, position and prior criminal record of the defendant, if any.
This means that there should be rules and regulations for issuing alternative punishments. This is why some people have called for a conference on the issue to be held by the ministries of interior and justice.
In my humble opinion, there is no need for such a conference, as a simple committee comprising concerned officials from the two ministries will do. The participants would deliberate and issue recommendations.
Issues of a public nature are usually covered at these conferences, where the participants deliver long sermons and compete in orations. I can accept the idea of a conference if it ends in the formation of a committee of action.
However, to save time and money, I am all for the idea of the committee that will issue guidelines to judges on alternative punishments.
I am saying guidelines because it would not be obligatory for judges to issue alternative punishments. Every case has its own circumstances and conditions and every criminal should be sentenced according to his or her health, financial and social status.
In addition to being a social service or fundraising initiative, alternative punishments are a way of sparing criminals, particularly younger ones, from the harshness and cruelty of prison.
I was happy to find out that such punishments have roots in our Fiqh legacy, which makes the call for them more persuasive.
