If a person who committed embezzlement or bank robbery had reformed, I still wouldn't want them to hold public office. They already showed themselves to be unable to resist temptation. Maybe if they were very young and were just an accessory.
A judge once told me that there are three types of people who get in trouble with the law - NORPS, Slicks, and Slobs. A NORP is a Normal Ordinary Respectable Person who Screwed up on Saturday night. They will go back to the straight and narrow on their own, whether they get a fine, jail time, community service, whatever, they aren't going to get in trouble again. A Slick is a career criminal, who spends his life victimizing other people. No matter what you do, he is never going to change, so it's best to max him out so he can't hurt people in society. But the Slob is a weakling, he'll be good if he's around good people, but he'll be bad if he's around bad people, so the creativity is making sure that he's around good people and hope he mends his ways.
I thought that was a very good way of looking at it.
I don't think using drugs or having consensual sex with an adult is a "bad thing." I think victimizing someone, especially when you are in a position of trust, is a "bad thing" and I'd never trust that person again. |
