[bsder]

> Protecting society from criminals (or the violently and severely mentally-ill)

And this is another problem--your "justice system" should NOT be where you place your mentally-ill--they belong in a (possibly secure) medical facility and not with rank-and-file criminals. This is yet one more issue with the US system.

[JuniperMesos]

A secure medical facility is basically the same thing as a prison, as far as the people compelled by the state to remain there are concerned.

[watwut]

It is not nearly the same.