Criminal Justices Systems in Crime and Punishment and The Stranger
Topic: The inadequacies of the criminal justice system as seen in The Stranger and Crime and Punishment Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky and The Stranger by Albert Camus are novels set in very different places that share a common element. In Crime and Punishment, the main character Raskolnikov commits two brutal murders and is able to walk the streets of St. ... Raskolnikov is convicted only after he confesses to the police, even then he receives a mild punishment for the crime committed. A similar situation occurs in The Stranger, when the main character Monsieur Meursalt commits a murder and is not punished accordingly. ... Although each novel occurs in an entirely different setting, Crime and Punishment in St. Petersburg, Russia and The Stranger in Algiers, there are obvious flaws in the criminal justice system in each of the novels. ... There are many reasons why the criminal justice system in Crime and Punishment is not adequate. ... Because Porfiry is so fond of Raskolnikov he allows him to confess the crime himself and receive a lesser punishment. In the end it takes a confession from the murderer himself to solve the crime. ... In three to four years Raskolnikov would be released back into a society where he might be likely to commit another crime. It is obvious that there are many shortcomings in the criminal justice system in the novel. ... Raskolnikov receives a lenient punishment and the court makes no attempt to rehabilitate him. ... It is a combination of all of these issues that make the criminal justice system in the novel entirely inadequate.