𝘼𝙯𝙠𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙣 - 𝙁𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚

Cindy 07/10/21

136

Welcome to my Debate

10/07/2021

#AzkaBANNED

~~𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐳𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧~~

"They don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Most go mad within weeks."

Azkaban, the magical prison. who keeps the most dangerous wizards away from society and imprisoned. It is described as cruel, where madness reigns. We got a better insight in the third book, with Sirius Black's perspective. It was built in the 15th century for different purposes, before being used as a prison. It is often compared to Alcatraz, the American prison which is said to be impossible to escape, surrounded by water and sharks. Impossible to break in or out.

What we know about it, is that most of the british criminals get sent there for major and minor crimes. Dementors walk around there, feeding on souls and happy memories which makes them go mad. However, we get to see some of the most dangerous wizards in there like Bellatrix Lestrange. This brings up some questions, of why every criminal gets sent to the same place as mass murderers. Do they deserve it? Do even some of the worst criminals deserve to be sent there? An example of this is Crispin Cronk, a fellow prisoner, had illegal sphinxes in his backyard and he was sentenced to stay in Azkaban. Now the question is whether or not Azkaban is a justifiable punishment for evil witches or wizards.

To understand what speaks against, we have to get a small glimpse to what speaks for it:

It might be argued that Azkaban is the only safe way to keep powerful, or even less powerful, wizards locked. In the Harry Potter universe we have a lot of different magic kinds. Some are taught at Hogwarts and some aren't, but not every kind of magic needs a wand. In the african magic school, Uagadou, the students are taught wandless magic, meaning they are never truly powerless since there is no direct way of taking powers away. This would be a danger for the wizards working in a prison since they could fall victim to their magic and it wouldn't be safe since they could easily escape. Prisons are there to keep dangers away from society but how can it prevent such things if escape is always possible.

The care of prisoners can not rely on creatures that can't differentiate right from wrong and cannot feel empathy. In Azkaban, dementors are free to run amuck and to feed on the souls of prisoners. Their job is to keep them inside and to follow the ministers orders. However, there were multiple instances where it did not happen as planned. Where the dementors went against orders and ed the wrong side. These inhuman creatures can't make a difference between guilty and innocent and yet they have the complete choice and power over prisoners, who are still human beings. Dementors aren't made to take care of human beings who can feel and suffer. Even prisoners have a right of their own will but it gets stripped away by them. A prime example of why they aren't good guards, Mrs. Crouch exchanged places with her son, a prisoner. The Dementors did not care and fed on the innocent soul since they can't make a difference. By doing so, they failed in doing their two duties; following the ministry in protecting the innocent and keeping prisoners inside.

Azkaban, a prison full of torture, does not just hold murderers. Every wizard who commits a crime gets sent there. One of the biggest arguments that speaks for Azkaban is that it holds the worst criminals in the wizarding world, criminals who do not deserve Mercy. I'll come back to this but we forget that it is not just them. Crispin Cronk made the mistake of having some illegal sphinxes in his garden and was imprisoned in a cell where he got robbed of his soul. Just like him we got Hagrid and even Harry. Those would have also been victims of the Dementors and the torture that spreads through Azkaban. Do those people deserve this treatment? The answer is a simple no. Even bigger crimes like theft aren't enough to make someone suffer through that. If most wizards believe it is a fair treatment, then it just shows the influence on the people's empathy that Azkaban influenced even outside the four walls.

Everyone should be allowed Mercy, no matter how severe the crime was. As a leading position, it is their job to be neutral and to bring justice. Even in the Wiazrding World, torture should never be allowed since it is clearly a violation of human rights. And without a doubt, what happens inside of Azkaban is the definition of tortue; an act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental. Taking every happy memory away, leaving an emptiness inside of someone is an act of mental abuse. In this case, even the death penalty could be more merciful than this. Taking ones life seems more just, than leaving only a shell of a body. 'most go mad within weeks', a direct quote from Sirius Black. If the cruciatus curse is illegal, why is tormenting inmates allowed and even ed by the government?

In conclusion, Azkaban should never have been allowed or accepted in that format. Violating a lot of rights, giving creatures a lot of freedom of what happens to inmates. Even if we take all the possible perks, there are always more speaking against. We cannot talk about outside safety when people inside are in dangerosu constantly, even if the danger is their own mind. In my opinion, Azkaban should have never existed for the purpose as a Prison. They should build two different prisons, for different levels of crimes with adequate punishment. And even with separation, both should be guarded by Wizards, or even squibs. But never by Dementors.