5 ms·

What would you suggest then as a punishment?

• WalterBright 11y ago
  Just a thought, but picking up trash along the highway is one option.
  • duncan_bayne 11y ago
    What about reparations for the victim of the theft?
    • Thriptic 11y ago
      What if the person can't pay the reparations?
      • duncan_bayne 11y ago
        That's actually an excellent question. Bankrupt him? Poor odds for rehabilitation then. Enslave him? Tempting, but as others have pointed out there's a world of corruption and market distortion awaiting you. I'm really not sure what the answer is.
  • TeMPOraL 11y ago
    I used to believe that we should put people to useful work instead of warehousing them in jails to rot. Then people on HN explained to me how it was tried in the US and it created perverse incentives, giving jail wardens tremendous powers of blackmailing locals into doing their bidding at the threat of deploying free work force in their industry (e.g. cutting down trees) and driving the locals out of business. This stuff is hard to get right.