raindropple

1. rapists
2. child rapists
3. murderers

That is how should the law deal with them?

[ August 13, 2002: Message edited by: 99Percent ]</p>

MadMordigan

I am of the opinion that certain crimes, including the ones mentioned here, should be dealt with very harshly. My preferred method of incarceration would be 24 hour a day seclusion, no entertainment, with sustainance only level food and water for the rest of their lives.

JerryM

Violent offenders must be separated from society by incarceration until they are no longer a danger to others. I believe that studies have shown that most males who commit violent crimes usually lose their violent tendencies by their 6th or 7th decade. However, I think sexual offenders probably have a life long condition,for which, to my knowledge, no treatment can successfully remove. I think that capital punishment can be condoned for some especially heinous crimes as a matter of simple justice. I'm thinking here of mass or repeated murder, murder with torture or unusual cruelty, war crimes, etc. (If Hitler for example, or Osama bin Laden would have been duly convicted of their crimes, what kind of sentence would be appropriate?) But because the justice system is so fallible, a good case can be made for foregoing executions.

tronvillain

I would have to go with imprisonment, though certainly not under the conditions MadMordigan favours. While I don't favour lavish living conditions, they needn't be quite so harsh (relative isolation is an interesting idea though). Attempts at rehabilitation and reintegration into society should be made, but no one who remains a potential danger should be released.

nyx

I wish I had the answers. Unfortunately, sociopaths haven't proven to be "curable".

I think chemical castration has some merits when it comes to sexual violence.

Murder is a little more complicated.

Nyx

Talulah

Not to be a do-gooder or anything, but it has been proven over and over that isolation causes prisoners to go truly insane. Studies into prisons with harsh conditions and isolation and the results on the inmates is the exact reason why we have reformed prisons and methods today. I believe we should treat any human-being humanely. Just because we have taken away their right to liberty and we can control their lives doesn't mean we can also try to take away their humanity.

Having said that, I support the death penalty for violent child predators, serial rapists and serial killers. I question whether they have a spark of humanity left in them. But just because I support the death penalty doesn't mean I think we should mistreat those who are still alive.

I can see the benefits of chemical castration also. I would think we should set that punishment at a number and/or severity of offenses though.

[ August 09, 2002: Message edited by: Talulah ]</p>

tronvillain

Talulah:
Well, I'm not in favour of permanent solitary confinement or anything, but it seems like a lot of the problem is interaction with other prisoners.

ohwilleke

I think that current punishments of extended periods of incarceration, hefty fines, and long periods of parol after release are appropriate punishments in all of these cases. I think that the death penalty (or other corporal punishment), if used at all, should be reserved the the most aggravated multiple murders, torture cases, and such when proof is beyond any question and the defendants are fully adult and sane. Only a small percentage of murder cases should be death penalty eligible if any.

Punishment for lesser crimes (which are an order of magnitude more common) is really much more problematic than for serious crimes. It does not make sense to send a car thief, or a brute who hit his new girlfriend and gave her a black eye on one occassion, to jail for a decade. Both offenders undeniably committed offenses which should be punished, both as retribution for the act done and deterrence against future acts of that type by that offender or another. But, since someone who commits a lesser offense will return to society at some point even if imprisoned, rehabilitation is a much greater concern than it is in a rape or murder case where the offender is likely to return to society, if at all, as an old man incapable of being a serious threat to much of anyone. Allowing people to offend again and again and again, after minor or moderately serious offenses as our current system does, also doesn't work, and simply creates minor league system for criminals who work their way up to serious crimes.

One of the last sane

I'm not so sure. I read somewhere that offenders go on raping, only because they can't get an erection they use objects.

nyx

You might be right. Even so, it's worth a try.

Child molesters I heard interviewed, seemed to lose interest in sex and their prey.

I suppose it decreases sexual interest but does not elimate the violent component of rape.

Short of execution or life-long imprisonment, what else is there?

Nyx