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I think you're mistaken about how probation is used in practice. Many small offenses will get you put on probation for ten years. Parole and work release are

I think you're mistaken about how probation is used in practice. Many small offenses will get you put on probation for ten years. Parole and work release are more often used as alternatives to incarceration. The main issue here is whether or not people on probation should be allowed to vote. I don't see why they shouldn't and I can't see any justification for putting them in jail if they do. It's absolutely absurd.

tialaramex 9y ago
The US frames prison as primarily revenge, it's about taking things away from "bad" people. Take away their nice things, destroy their family, make sure they'll never get a decent job and so on. The EU (and most modern actual thinking on the issue) says prison primarily lets us force convicts to reform, we can impose structure in their lives, show them how to be good - and in the worst case we keep them there if they refuse to reform. The British government fought and lost a legal battle to retain the status where prisoners can't legally vote (and many people who are in jail but aren't convicted of any crime don't end up being able to vote even though it's legal). The EU said that's not OK. You can target criminals who e.g. are in prison for vote tampering, but you can't take away people's vote just because they're in prison since they're still citizens.
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