> A prison sentence isn't meant to be only punishment for the offender Well it does punish them. It punishes them with what many would consider torture, and ag

> A prison sentence isn't meant to be only punishment for the offender Well it does punish them. It punishes them with what many would consider torture, and again, my point is that most of these sentences are for non-violent crimes. > it's also (theoretically) a deterrent to other potential criminals Yes. Because people will stop smoking pot, stop being dumb drunks, and stop making non-violent mistakes, because of mandatory minimums, 3 strike laws, and horrific legal processes that threaten defendants with maximum sentences for confessions and settlements. > a chance to rehabilitate the prisoner Yes, sticking non-violent prisoners in with entrenched gang societies helps rehabilitate people. Also, we rehabilitate them with punishment. Great job state. If you believe we should lock people up for non-violent crime, my statements stand. It's a criminal punishment system that punishes not only non-violent and trivial crimes, but also meaningful dissent/experimentation that doesn't hurt anyone, with cruel and unproductive punishment. If we want to continue to "punish" people, and yet talk about "rehabilitation", then I believe there's a little bit of cognitive dissonance happening if you agree these things can coexist.