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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: one_less who wrote (81797)	6/15/2000 3:24:00 AM
From: Dayuhan	Respond to of 108807

I will agree to take personal responsibility for the penal system when you agree to take personal responsibility for anyone who is unjustly executed. Not very sensible, either way. Why do you assume that a person who opposes the death penalty must think that the current penal system is flawless? The two don't go together at all. I personally believe that the entire system is in need of overhaul from top to bottom, and that part of that overhaul should be the elimination of the death penalty. How do we guarantee that anyone in prison will never commit another crime? We can't. So what do we do, kill them all? It makes sense to grade criminals according to the severity of their crimes, and keep the hard core away from the soft core in different conditions. Systems aimed at accomplishing this exist; they could doubtless use a lot of improvement. You seem to think that prisons are far too pleasant. So what do we do, make them more unpleasant? Make them really, really, horrible? Do you think the people emerging from such a system will be any less likely to commit further crimes? It's a hell of a complicated problem, with no clear answer. There may not be any ideal answer. But it is fairly certain that raving will not bring about any improvement. Once you have them in custody it becomes your responsibility to deal with the evil they represent. Very true. So we have to decide how we will deal with them. Our decision reflects what we are, as people. I would prefer to rehabilitate all that can be rehabilitated (and punishment is a necessary component of rehabilitation), do everything we can to help them stay rehabilitated (meaning help give them the skills to earn a non-criminal living), and to regretfully but firmly segregate the rest, in perpetuity if need be. You foam at the mouth, scream that life in jail is too easy, demand death, death, death, punishment, punishment, punishment, make their lives as miserable as we constitutionally can, so that they will emerge either determined never to go back or so consumed with hate and anger that they will do something atrocious as soon as possible. Or something like that. Forgive me if I'm wrong, your posts are not sufficiently clear for me to come away with any real idea of what you are advocating. What do those proposals say about us, as people?