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Yes the thought of it is horrible, but isn't it part of the purpose of criminal punishments to scare away people from committing crimes?

JustSomeNobody 9y ago
The working while in prison part or the not being released early part? I personally don't mind inmates working while in prison. What I disagree with is the inmates not being allowed to be released early because the state wants them to keep working. I don't think having to work while in prison is going to scare any would-be offender straight. And thinking about inmates not being released early is only going to piss off everyone.
steego 9y ago
I get it. However, if criminal punishment actually scared people away from committing crimes, why are our incarceration rates are so high? You'd think a country with mandatory minimum sentences and capital punishment to deter a lot of crime, but it appears it simply doesn't work. One theory I read (I can't find the source ATM) posited deterrence tends not work against people who tend to go to prison because people who go to prison statistically have a poorer sense of risk/reward. So what do you do? Personally, I think it depends on the type of crime. First, we need to recognize that some of our policies incentivize crime, especially the illicit drug market. People with a poor sense of risk/reward will naturally gravitate to this line of work because they probably respond a lot more to the reward than the risk. There may be a population that is deterred by criminal punishments and one could argue it makes sense to keep criminal punishments to simply deter that population. I don't disagree with that, but I do think we really need to reassess whether criminal punishment is the universal deterrence some people make it out to be. Our best crime prevention policy may simply be removing or poisoning incentive.
sharemywin 9y ago
Except it's a horrible deterrent and many of our laws a just a waste(ie. drug laws) of taxpayers money.
maxerickson 9y ago
The loss of freedom is already a pretty big penalty.
maze-le 9y ago
>> but isn't it part of the purpose of criminal punishments to scare away people from committing crimes? The premise: "Harsh punishments are scaring criminals from commiting crime" must be questioned. I highly doubt it is a valid premise. Just look at crime rates in regions where you have harsh criminal laws up to capital punishment. There is not even a correlation much less a causal relation between "Harsh on Crime" vs. "Low crime rate".
MisterBastahrd 9y ago
Given recidivism rates, no. A week or a month might wake someone up. A few years is just going to get them comfortable, so figure out other ways to attempt to cure them of their desire to transgress.

JustSomeNobody 9y ago

The working while in prison part or the not being released early part? I personally don't mind inmates working while in prison. What I disagree with is the inmates not being allowed to be released early because the state wants them to keep working. I don't think having to work while in prison is going to scare any would-be offender straight. And thinking about inmates not being released early is only going to piss off everyone.

steego 9y ago

I get it. However, if criminal punishment actually scared people away from committing crimes, why are our incarceration rates are so high? You'd think a country with mandatory minimum sentences and capital punishment to deter a lot of crime, but it appears it simply doesn't work. One theory I read (I can't find the source ATM) posited deterrence tends not work against people who tend to go to prison because people who go to prison statistically have a poorer sense of risk/reward. So what do you do? Personally, I think it depends on the type of crime. First, we need to recognize that some of our policies incentivize crime, especially the illicit drug market. People with a poor sense of risk/reward will naturally gravitate to this line of work because they probably respond a lot more to the reward than the risk. There may be a population that is deterred by criminal punishments and one could argue it makes sense to keep criminal punishments to simply deter that population. I don't disagree with that, but I do think we really need to reassess whether criminal punishment is the universal deterrence some people make it out to be. Our best crime prevention policy may simply be removing or poisoning incentive.

sharemywin 9y ago

Except it's a horrible deterrent and many of our laws a just a waste(ie. drug laws) of taxpayers money.

maxerickson 9y ago

The loss of freedom is already a pretty big penalty.

maze-le 9y ago

>> but isn't it part of the purpose of criminal punishments to scare away people from committing crimes? The premise: "Harsh punishments are scaring criminals from commiting crime" must be questioned. I highly doubt it is a valid premise. Just look at crime rates in regions where you have harsh criminal laws up to capital punishment. There is not even a correlation much less a causal relation between "Harsh on Crime" vs. "Low crime rate".

MisterBastahrd 9y ago

Given recidivism rates, no. A week or a month might wake someone up. A few years is just going to get them comfortable, so figure out other ways to attempt to cure them of their desire to transgress.