[pluma]

> if prisons did more than just house inmates

The problem is that the US system in particular is obsessed with punishment alone. Yes, sure, sometimes the punishment is justified as a learning experience but it's entirely based on the idea that punishment alone is sufficient to teach and act as a deterrent to others.

Considering mental health (especially for the poor) is fairly neglected as a public health issue in the US and the country has the highest incarceration rate in the "free world", I'm not sure there's a fix.

Oh, and paedophilia absolutely can be managed if you treat it as a mental health issue. Not to mention that most sexual abuse of minors isn't actually committed by paedophiles -- just like most rape cases aren't simply about very horny people who can't help themselves.

[lucideer]

> highest incarceration rate in the "free world"

2nd highest in the world full stop is a starker figure (behind Seychelles which has a population <10k)

[pluma]

Also nearly all countries that are anywhere in the vicinity of the US on that list have tiny populations. Even Russia is only at #10: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarcera...

Also also this: http://imgur.com/a/SYIwN

[droidist2]

You're probably right since "free world" can mean many different things to different people, although I thought Seychelles had like 100,000 people

[lucideer]

Oops, yeah should say <100k. Still. Quite small.

[gigatexal]

I agree. Though perhaps the Victorian / puritan morality that underlies American history won't let us move on from punishment to rehab.

[DarkKomunalec]

I'm not sure punishment vs rehabilitation is the cause for support of such a cruel system. I myself am in favour of punishment in addition to rehabilitation, up to an eye for an eye (as it was originaly used - to limit retaliation) for serious crimes. But even to me the US law system seems way too harsh on the accused, in both establishing guilt and assigning punishment, so I don't really know what drives others to support it.

Perhaps they hear of a few over-lenient sentences, or of someone getting away with it without a conviction, and in response vote to raise the severity for everyone?