4 ms·

People will change their behavior. The function of prison sentences is deterrence.

by hiddencost 5mo ago

JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
> function of prison sentences is deterrence As well as incapacitation and retribution.
- Aachen 5mo ago
  As well as making acquaintances with other criminals at a time where you're losing your job, apartment, your social network if the sentence lasts long enough But, yes, also those two. It's a very multifaceted sword, and thankfully not the only option, not for any of the three goals
loeg 5mo ago
And incapacitation!
- Aachen 5mo ago
  And taking away a license in order to achieve that in the case of traffic offences couldn't possibly be the cheaper option for deterrence or incapacitation
  - loeg 5mo ago
    It's both cheaper and less effective. (And Mary Lau didn't even lose her license.)
kelseyfrog 5mo ago
Impulsivity is definitionally the absence of forethought. Deterrence doesn't affect crimes born from impulse.
- JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
  > Deterrence doesn't affect crimes born from impulse And yet I've seen way more people call an Uber instead of drive home drunk not because they thought they'd kill someone, but because they didn't want a DUI.
  - loeg 5mo ago
    To put it another way: crimes of pure impulse, with zero forethought, are a subset of all crimes.
  - kelseyfrog 5mo ago
    Sounds like the insight is that people have varying degrees of forethought. Crime isn't mono-causal and therefore solutions shouldn't be expected to be monolithic.
    - JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
      > solutions shouldn't be expected to be monolithic I don’t see anyone in this thread arguing for this. Just backing up the notion that vehicular manslaughter is almost tolerated by the justice system.
      - kelseyfrog 5mo ago
        Perhaps an unintentional use of the definite article? > The function of prison sentences is deterrence. The definite article is typically used to indicate 'there is only one'[1]. 1. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/free-resources/grammar/english-grammar-reference/definite-article https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/free-resources/gramm...
Aachen 5mo ago
And they're the only option, right?

People will change their behavior. The function of prison sentences is deterrence.

JumpCrisscross 5mo ago

> function of prison sentences is deterrence As well as incapacitation and retribution.

Aachen 5mo ago
As well as making acquaintances with other criminals at a time where you're losing your job, apartment, your social network if the sentence lasts long enough But, yes, also those two. It's a very multifaceted sword, and thankfully not the only option, not for any of the three goals

loeg 5mo ago

And incapacitation!

Aachen 5mo ago
And taking away a license in order to achieve that in the case of traffic offences couldn't possibly be the cheaper option for deterrence or incapacitation
- loeg 5mo ago
  It's both cheaper and less effective. (And Mary Lau didn't even lose her license.)

kelseyfrog 5mo ago

Impulsivity is definitionally the absence of forethought. Deterrence doesn't affect crimes born from impulse.

JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
> Deterrence doesn't affect crimes born from impulse And yet I've seen way more people call an Uber instead of drive home drunk not because they thought they'd kill someone, but because they didn't want a DUI.
- loeg 5mo ago
  To put it another way: crimes of pure impulse, with zero forethought, are a subset of all crimes.
- kelseyfrog 5mo ago
  Sounds like the insight is that people have varying degrees of forethought. Crime isn't mono-causal and therefore solutions shouldn't be expected to be monolithic.
  - JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
    > solutions shouldn't be expected to be monolithic I don’t see anyone in this thread arguing for this. Just backing up the notion that vehicular manslaughter is almost tolerated by the justice system.
    - kelseyfrog 5mo ago
      Perhaps an unintentional use of the definite article? > The function of prison sentences is deterrence. The definite article is typically used to indicate 'there is only one'[1]. 1. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/free-resources/grammar/english-grammar-reference/definite-article https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/free-resources/gramm...

Aachen 5mo ago

And they're the only option, right?