Rehabilitation as the purpose of punishment in Ecuador Can all criminals be rehabilitated?

Abstract

This paper is a critical analysis of the purpose of punishment in Ecuador, which, according to the current constitutional and criminal legal framework, is rehabilitation and social reintegration as the objectives pursued by the prison system. However, the unsustainable level of crime in the country, recidivism, and the identification of certain particularly perverse criminal profiles that display and promote violence in society have led to questions about the effectiveness of rehabilitation and social reintegration as the purposes of punishment. For this reason, the general objective was to analyze whether prison rehabilitation is effective for all types of offenders. To this end, a qualitative research methodology was used, based on theoretical and legal exegetical methods, and state-of-the-art techniques, together with a documentary literature review as specific research techniques. As a result, it was found that not all criminal profiles can be rehabilitated, since various factors will cause them to continue their criminal careers, meaning that in the vast majority of cases they will reoffend. Likewise, based on this, it was determined how criminals should be classified as either rehabilitable or non-rehabilitable, which should be done according to the particularities of each specific case. Finally, it was determined that the only possible treatment for non-rehabilitable criminals would be permanent social isolation.