3 ms·
This is heartbreakingly cruel. It's hard to believe that an otherwise civilized country can do this to its citizens.
by marvin 7y ago
This is heartbreakingly cruel. It's hard to believe that an otherwise civilized country can do this to its citizens.
- User23 7y agoHow about having some sympathy for this man’s many victims and the people he would have preyed on in the future? While a life sentence without parole sounds excessive, he will never again rob or burgle or otherwise prey on the citizens of that otherwise civilized country. The only reason to permit the state monopoly on violence is because the state in turn keeps the peace. That includes protecting its citizens from robbery and burglary.
- wbl 7y agoMost criminals don't commit crimes as they get older. The idea of lifelong criminality is a myth. The certainty of a sentence is more important then its duration, so these harsh sentences aren't deterring crime as effectively as having more cops would.
- SamReidHughes 7y agoThe purpose of the harsh sentence in three strikes laws isn't to deter crime, it's to lock people up who are apparently undeterrable.
- EliRivers 7y agoCrazy, isn't it. If deterrence appears not to work, let's pick the most expensive, wasteful alternative we can find! Taxpayers get a bad deal, society gets a bad deal, everyone involved gets a bad deal. I suppose that's what we get if the point isn't to make a better society but rather to indulge people's revenge fantasies and messed up sense of satisfaction.
- marvin 7y agoI certainly sympathize with the victims, but I also sympathize with someone who has been sentenced to life in prison (a small step above the death penalty, on my own morality scale). Life sentences are not necessary to deter crime, as evidenced by crime and recurrence statistics of other countries.