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Has it never occurred to you (the obvious) that punishment is one of the things (if not the most important one) that keeps people from committing crimes? It's a

Has it never occurred to you (the obvious) that punishment is one of the things (if not the most important one) that keeps people from committing crimes? It's a matter of disincentive. Not only that, it's part of the reform, since it's a form of reprehension. I can't understand how you can't see what is basically common sense.

FussyZeus 11y ago
Except the punishments do not make the victim whole again, they cost society a shitload of money, and oftentimes the offenders have no idea what the consequences actually are. So, what is this for? I'm not advocating no consequences for anything, but I think a financial penalty would be far more effective and might have a chance at actually giving the victim something besides some nebulous feeling of satisfaction, while saving us money and not costing us productive members of society who had a moment of lapsed judgement. I've worked with a lot of ex cons. Sure you have some that are hard core criminals, but the vast, vast majority are just people who did something stupid, know it, regret it, and are branded for life for it. It sucks.
cmiles74 11y ago
While the idea sounds straightforward, I don't believe that it's as simple as "punishment deters crime". IMHO, the deterrent effect of imprisonment is negligible; it's primary effect is to prevent those who commit crimes from committing more in the public arena by locking them up. http://primary.slate.com/articles/business/the_dismal_science/2007/01/the_irrational_18yearold_criminal.html http://primary.slate.com/articles/business/the_dismal_scienc...