Appreciate the shout and your reflections on this topic. Especially in the US, we are often very insular and carve our own path without learning from other countries' successes.
Oh, I doubt there's a jurisdiction anywhere where the criminal justice system is not lacking in some respect or another.
In past ages, the law was there to protect the wealthy and their property, until it became a means to acquire wealth and property. It was there to set an example, until Dreyfus showed that examples can be spirited out of nothing. It was there to keep order, until the keeping of order became the pretext to incarcerate the orderly in deed, if unruly in thought. It was there to keep the dangerous from the benign, until the dangerous proved benign slaves. It was there to reform the bad to make them good; now the bad make the laws that put them there. They appoint the justices that rule on matters of justice. They place high worth on money, which so many desired who are locked up there. Shouting is all I can do. To parody Whitman: The untold want by life and land ne'er granted, now, America, carve thou forth, to seek and find.
There is a word in French that means "dungeon". A place where the offender is thrown into darkness and filth, and left to fend for himself with the rats and to rot in damp, dank solitude. They call it an "oubliette" - a forgotten place. All modern prisons are forgotten places, except by those who reside there.
Thank you for your comment. I hope you had a good flight.
I admire you for taking on such a tough topic. For me, so-called capital punishment (death) is wrong. If the culprit had no "right" to take another's life, then neither does the state. For some culprits who are psychopaths, sociopaths, or other severe personality disorders, for which at present there is neither effective treatment, nor cure; the best thing for society is lock them up for life - that is until they pass away from natural causes. For other culprits not afflicted with mental or personality disorders, Send them to rehabilitation encampments, teach them a life sustaining profession or trade then help them find employment. Perhaps a year of probation.. The death penalty and long prison sentences are not a deterrent to crime, the death penalty is vengeance, a venal emotion not worthy of a civilized society.
Robbery is different. Again they need two punishments, first and foremost they must return whatever they stole or the value of that theft. Then they should be sent to rehab.
Child molesters, is a more difficult topic for me. Because I cannot think of a crime more vile than harming a person so much smaller and weaker than you.
Next, pre-trial. I agree, locking a person up for longer than thirty days, sixty maximum is unacceptable and even then only if the person is a flight risk, or so psychotic they may continue killing. Bail is unfair to poor (meaning little money not pathetic). Give them an ankle bracelet with a tracking device.
Appreciate the shout and your reflections on this topic. Especially in the US, we are often very insular and carve our own path without learning from other countries' successes.
Oh, I doubt there's a jurisdiction anywhere where the criminal justice system is not lacking in some respect or another.
In past ages, the law was there to protect the wealthy and their property, until it became a means to acquire wealth and property. It was there to set an example, until Dreyfus showed that examples can be spirited out of nothing. It was there to keep order, until the keeping of order became the pretext to incarcerate the orderly in deed, if unruly in thought. It was there to keep the dangerous from the benign, until the dangerous proved benign slaves. It was there to reform the bad to make them good; now the bad make the laws that put them there. They appoint the justices that rule on matters of justice. They place high worth on money, which so many desired who are locked up there. Shouting is all I can do. To parody Whitman: The untold want by life and land ne'er granted, now, America, carve thou forth, to seek and find.
There is a word in French that means "dungeon". A place where the offender is thrown into darkness and filth, and left to fend for himself with the rats and to rot in damp, dank solitude. They call it an "oubliette" - a forgotten place. All modern prisons are forgotten places, except by those who reside there.
Thank you for your comment. I hope you had a good flight.
I admire you for taking on such a tough topic. For me, so-called capital punishment (death) is wrong. If the culprit had no "right" to take another's life, then neither does the state. For some culprits who are psychopaths, sociopaths, or other severe personality disorders, for which at present there is neither effective treatment, nor cure; the best thing for society is lock them up for life - that is until they pass away from natural causes. For other culprits not afflicted with mental or personality disorders, Send them to rehabilitation encampments, teach them a life sustaining profession or trade then help them find employment. Perhaps a year of probation.. The death penalty and long prison sentences are not a deterrent to crime, the death penalty is vengeance, a venal emotion not worthy of a civilized society.
Robbery is different. Again they need two punishments, first and foremost they must return whatever they stole or the value of that theft. Then they should be sent to rehab.
Child molesters, is a more difficult topic for me. Because I cannot think of a crime more vile than harming a person so much smaller and weaker than you.
Next, pre-trial. I agree, locking a person up for longer than thirty days, sixty maximum is unacceptable and even then only if the person is a flight risk, or so psychotic they may continue killing. Bail is unfair to poor (meaning little money not pathetic). Give them an ankle bracelet with a tracking device.