The justice system aims to instill correctional behavior in offenders. Those found guilty of certain crimes or offenses are often incarcerated, while others are given an alternative form of punishment. 

It has been proposed that rehabilitation and punishment do not always need toinclude jail time, especially if the offense is not considered violent. Many individuals, primarily non-violent criminals, feel remorse for their actions even before they are sentenced. In these cases, allowing these individuals to choose a rehabilitation program for their correctional therapy may be beneficial. 

While this cannot apply to every non-violent criminal, an enforced rehab program instead of jail time provides an opportunity for improvement and higher chances for a genuine change of heart in the individual.

On the other hand, it has been suggested that removing a jail term for non-violent criminals may result in the abuse of this new system. Some view jail terms as a successful method that keeps non-criminals in society safe from those that are convicted, regardless of whether their crimes are violent or not.

The question for debate is, should non-violent criminals be able to select rehabilitation programs instead of jail time?