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> I want them punished. Why complicate things? Probably because satisfying your want for revenge isn't a good enough reason to have the big expensive system th
by ifyoubuildit 3y ago
> I want them punished. Why complicate things?
Probably because satisfying your want for revenge isn't a good enough reason to have the big expensive system that is prison.
Presumably prison should be solving some wider societal problems.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> satisfying your want for revenge isn't a good enough reason to have the big expensive system that is prison Retribution is an important component of justice [1]. Its utilitarian purpose is to prevent out-of-the-law reprisal. You see it on HN, where certain topics attract someone who will be “sickened” or “disgusted” by some thing or other, and reflexively want something horrible to happen to everyone involved. (If you’re honest, you’ve done this too. It’s a childish impulse inherent to being human.) [1] https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/reasons-we-punish https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/reasons-...
- ifyoubuildit 3y agoI concur, but I think my point still stands: on its own, that's not enough to justify the existence of the whole machine. There are far cheaper ways to mete out punishment.
- zozbot234 3y agoYou don't want punishment to be cheap, it leads to very bad incentives. Expensive punishment means that it's in everyone's self interest to actually make sure that they're punishing the right guy. If effective rehabilitation turns out to be costly, that's not a bad thing either.
- FireBeyond 3y agoRetribution is not revenge, though. Retribution is deserved punishment. Revenge is the infliction of harm or hurt on someone, and to me is "above and beyond" justice retribution, remediation, and rehabilitation.