12 ms·
Man, there's a lot of sympathy for criminals in this thread. While there are always marginal cases that pull at the heart strings, generally speaking I don't a
by hcurtiss 6y ago
Man, there's a lot of sympathy for criminals in this thread. While there are always marginal cases that pull at the heart strings, generally speaking I don't actually care that rapists are having a bad time of it in prison. I genuinely don't. And that ambivalence extends to other criminal categories too. Usually this conversation devolves into a conversation around drug prosecutions and what many people see as excessive penalties. Historically, my answer has been that I favor drug legalization (meaning that's not so much a conversation about prisons sucking too much, but rather whether we're enforcing the right laws). But I have to admit I've grown more skeptical of legalization as I've seen what rampant drug use has done to west coast cities. Prison sentences, particularly uncomfortable ones, do in fact serve to deter crime, even if not all of it.
- closeparen 6y agoThe standard problem with this view is that most prison sentences end, at which point society has to deal with the personalities that prison has forged.
- hcurtiss 6y agoTo the degree they have committed a felony, either admitted or proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the personality has in most circumstances already been forged. While one can argue about rehabilitation and its efficacy, there are many urgent problems in society, and improving the conditions of prisoners in the hope of marginally improving rehabilitation efforts does not strike me as terribly pressing.
- closeparen 6y agoAll this cruelty is incredibly expensive. Reducing it would mean more left over for those pressing problems, not less.
- nonotreally 6y agoI encourage you to do some reading about the difference between Retributive Justice and Restorative Justice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retributive_justice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retributive_justice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restorative_justice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restorative_justice
- hcurtiss 6y agoI've done plenty, starting well before law school. I mentioned deterrence and I never argued against rehabilitation.
- nonotreally 6y ago"A restorative justice program aims to get offenders to take responsibility for their actions, to understand the harm they have caused, to give them an opportunity to redeem themselves and to discourage them from causing further harm." What about this idea doesn't appeal to you? Why do you prefer to have them suffer?
- hcurtiss 6y agoI never said I preferred anyone suffer. I just said I'm ambivalent. But to your question, I am highly skeptical of the efficacy of those methods, and I think they come at marginal cost to deterrence. I also think there are better places for society to put its money than improving the lot of rapists in prison. I'm also of the opinion that, relative to other countries, US prisons are not the hell the author makes them out to be. By way of example: https://brownpoliticalreview.org/2016/03/26050/ https://brownpoliticalreview.org/2016/03/26050/
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- nonotreally 6y agoHow do you reconcile cases of wrongful imprisonment?