Get rid of prisons!

Read the first, original post ....in all of it's radiant ignorance!

He's suggesting that we fit them all with leg monitors or something, and let them go on living their lives in comfortable homes, enjoying all of the happiness and love and sex that they did before they committed the crimes. Commit a crime? Hey, no problem, no jail, just go on about your life wearing a monitor of some kind. Neat, huh?

Child abuser in your neighborhood? Oh, sure, but he has a leg monitor, so you don't have to worry at all about your children.

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Baron Max

 

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In the novel Starship Troopers, the late Robert A. Heinlein proposed a no prison judicial system.

Minor crimes were punished by public floggings. Major crimes were punished by death.



I rather like it. If an individual cannot be trusted to walk the streets, to vote, purchase firearms, hold a job and so forth, there is no reason to preserve that individual in society.

On the other hand, if we propose it seriously, the liberal moonbats will pass enough bricks to build a couple more prisons.

 

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no punitive colonies lol. that was australia.

 

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BTW are you seriously taking ideas from a sci-fi novel? Its inteded for entertainment value, not practical application (the movie even sucked at the box office LOL). What constitutes a "major' and "minor" crime? Who decides? That can very very dangerous.

 

I just dont understand why the government has a bigger budget for prisons than for schools...

 

Perhaps a 'major crime' punishable by death would be a grave sin such as homosexuality, abortion, divorce, or dissent, and a 'minor crime' would be something quite cheeky like expressing free speech, making eye contact with authorities, or drinking alcohol on the Sabbath. There might be a middle category, too, for such things as voting for the wrong political party, which would result in disappearing in the middle of the night.

I am strongly opposed to the death 'penalty' and corporal punishment, as well as non-rehabilitating confinement (like prisons).

 

What's your experience and/or evidence for holding such a view of "rehabilitation" of criminals?

It's easy to claim the ability to rehabilitate criminals, but I've never heard, read or seen any evidence to suggest that it's feasible in any way or form. Have you?

Baron Max

 

Yes, there is a mountain of evidence for rehabilitation. Also, many of the hardened criminals have spent a life in and out of prison beginning in juvenile hall. Early intervention would render much of the later issues of chronic recidivism moot.

 

Rick James, obviously you've never read Heinlein. Robert A. Heinlein was a first rate political commentator in the guise of a science fiction writer. You might consider looking up his bio and reading his accomplishments before making unwarranted and rather silly assumptions.

Who would decide the difference between major and minor crime? Who decides now? Who has the authority to punish, either by fine, imprisonment or execution? Are you arguing having a government "... can be very dangerous"? Indeed it can. Indeed it is, but I'm not sure you see just exactly how or why.

 

Lord Hillyer, may I ask upon what grounds you assume the title 'Lord'?

I see you have a distinct phobia of all authority, save perhaps your own. Any particular reason for that?

As to the question at hand, just exactly where is the "...mountain of evidence for rehabilitation"? If you've done any study on the matter at all you would know the only sucessful 'rehabilitation' programs involve one of two opposites: God or fudging the results. Your choice - I'm calculating - would not be God.

However, I see from your profile you are a young man. Hopefully, your folly is only the folly of idealism. That folly is noble and self-correcting. Remember this conversation when you are fifty or so.

 

According to your own profile, you're a 57-year old overweight gun-loving, whiskey-drinking evangelical preacher. From this alone it is obvious that you are bereft of a mature regard for the edifying rebukes of medical statistics and scientific research.

 

Okay, let me try this one more time:

What's your experience and/or evidence for holding such a view of "rehabilitation" of criminals?

It's easy to claim the ability to rehabilitate criminals, but I've never heard, read or seen any evidence to suggest that it's feasible in any way or form. Have you?

Baron Max

 

Without resorting to JStor or Amazon links I offer these freely-accessible articles, as a starting point to what will no doubt be a vigorous and long-enduring investigation on your part into the research literature relating to successful treatment strategies for antisocial behaviour:

http://www.istpp.org/crime_prevention/index.html

http://www.istpp.org/rehabilitation/index.html

I also recommend Fishbein's two-volume science-based perspective of the causes and cures of criminal violence. A review of volume two can be found here:

http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/57/6/893

 

In point of fact, I know who I am.

In that you cannot answer direct and simple questions about yourself, you obviously do not have a clue as to who you are or might be. Typical in children, actually.

Go on pretending then; you might stumble across yourself someday. But you probably won't like you. Right now you're at the stage where you tend to justify the practice of some species eating their young.

 

You are a sad creature who advocates state-sanctioned killing and torture, and whose best retort upon being corrected is, 'you don't know who you really are'. Presumptuous and inane.

 

Interesting comment ....'cause that's just exactly what I have been thinking about you and your posts.

Baron Max

 

Is Archie your sockpuppet?