2 ms·

The United States is certainly part of the west, and we incarcerate people at a higher rate than any other advanced nation, BY FAR. The idea that we are soft o

The United States is certainly part of the west, and we incarcerate people at a higher rate than any other advanced nation, BY FAR. The idea that we are soft on crime is insane. Harsher punishments do not lead to lower crime.

giardini 2mo ago
[flagged]
- cortesoft 2mo ago
  It would not stop crimes committed by the people in charge of enforcing the draconian punishments.
- SamoyedFurFluff 2mo ago
  Do you have evidence that harsher punishments have a causal effect on crime rates?
- andrepd 2mo ago
  People _2000 years_ ago were writing books about why this is not true, but in the year 2026 there's still people saying "just give them the death penalty bro"....
gottorf 2mo ago
> we incarcerate people at a higher rate than any other advanced nation, BY FAR Crime is committed at a higher rate than in any other advanced nation, though some of the others are catching up. > The idea that we are soft on crime is insane Not even a little bit insane. There are a million criminal laws on the books that do not get enforced at all. For example, I live in a state that is stereotypically conservative and "tough on crime" and any marijuana-related products are strictly illegal, most often at the felony level; yet I constantly smell it while driving on the road, no less! People are smoking while driving all the time. This cannot be described as anything but soft on crime. The US system was overall built by and for people who are largely self-governing. This philosophy gets in the way of a true hard-on-crime pivot.
- cortesoft 2mo ago
  And yet your prisons are full of people in jail for marijuana related crimes. Because putting people in prison for weed does not stop people smoking weed.
  - laughing_man 2mo ago
    You don't go to jail for possession of weed in most US states. You won't even go to jail for dealing unless you've been busted multiple times or you're moving heavy weight. When you see statistics about people incarcerated on marijuana charges, what they normally obscure is either that's not the only charge or they pled down from something more serious. There isn't a single person in federal custody there for marijuana possession and only that.

giardini 2mo ago

[flagged]

cortesoft 2mo ago
It would not stop crimes committed by the people in charge of enforcing the draconian punishments.
SamoyedFurFluff 2mo ago
Do you have evidence that harsher punishments have a causal effect on crime rates?
andrepd 2mo ago
People _2000 years_ ago were writing books about why this is not true, but in the year 2026 there's still people saying "just give them the death penalty bro"....

gottorf 2mo ago

> we incarcerate people at a higher rate than any other advanced nation, BY FAR Crime is committed at a higher rate than in any other advanced nation, though some of the others are catching up. > The idea that we are soft on crime is insane Not even a little bit insane. There are a million criminal laws on the books that do not get enforced at all. For example, I live in a state that is stereotypically conservative and "tough on crime" and any marijuana-related products are strictly illegal, most often at the felony level; yet I constantly smell it while driving on the road, no less! People are smoking while driving all the time. This cannot be described as anything but soft on crime. The US system was overall built by and for people who are largely self-governing. This philosophy gets in the way of a true hard-on-crime pivot.

cortesoft 2mo ago
And yet your prisons are full of people in jail for marijuana related crimes. Because putting people in prison for weed does not stop people smoking weed.
- laughing_man 2mo ago
  You don't go to jail for possession of weed in most US states. You won't even go to jail for dealing unless you've been busted multiple times or you're moving heavy weight. When you see statistics about people incarcerated on marijuana charges, what they normally obscure is either that's not the only charge or they pled down from something more serious. There isn't a single person in federal custody there for marijuana possession and only that.