Civil Rights #1

When it comes to serious crimes, is it right for the justice system to pursue criminal charges several decades after the crime is said to have occurred?

I believe the justice system has every right to pursue these criminal charges after several decades after the crime is said to have occurred, even for crimes which aren't that severe.

My stand for this would be that when one commits a crime, regardless big or small, he or she should definitely face the rightful punishment for it. Should a criminal be let off that easily if the police are unable to arrest him or her in the stipulated amount of time, more and more people would bound to try commit crimes, be it out of desperation or for the fun of it. This would then lead to an overall increase in crimes rate, making the country less safe for its citizens. Moreover, according to a research on the percentage of criminals caught after committing different crimes in 2004, http://askville.amazon.com/criminals-caught-crimes-commit/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=7191078 , majority of the criminals who actually commit serious crimes like murder are actually caught. So does that means that those who are lucky in their time to escape the clutches of justice can be let go that easily if caught again in the future?

Some might say that these criminals may have repented in the time where they weren't caught after committing their crime.But that is definitely an unfair statement, as of course, it does not apply to all the criminals. Most of all, are these criminals so special to be different from others, to be able to repent in a surrounding much better than those who were caught; jail? Even so, I do feel that some cases should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, as some of these criminals might have committed their crimes out of accident when they were hot in their head, or when it is obvious that the person have repented through his kind acts in the society.

Thus, overall, I feel that the justice system have every right to pursue criminal charges several decades after the crime is said to have occurred.