It’s unfortunate that so many here are advocating for harsh prison sentences for some perceived deterrent value. The US has the highest total number of people

It’s unfortunate that so many here are advocating for harsh prison sentences for some perceived deterrent value. The US has the highest total number of people in prison, as well as the highest per capita rate [0], and yet we still have high rates of crimes we throw people in jail for decades for. Clearly this system isn’t having any deterrent impact, and it is having a huge cost to both the lives directly deprived of freedom and to the families around them. [0] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/uk/06/prisons/html/nn2page1.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/uk/06/prisons/html/nn2...