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by zokier 4894 days ago
> Punishment seems hard to get right.

That's why some advocate focusing on rehabilitation instead of punishment. I'm not really sure if I agree, rehabilitation sounds bit too close to brainwashing and clockwork orange in my mind.
1 comments
pyre 4894 days ago
Well, there is an idea that they should stay in jail until we are reasonably sure they don't pose a danger to society / won't re-offend.

When you file for bankruptcy, you are usually required to take some classes on managing your finances. This is a rehabilitation of sorts, but I wouldn't call it 'brainwashing.'

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jessaustin 4894 days ago
until we are reasonably sure they don't pose a danger to society / won't re-offend

This might make sense for murder, but for most lesser crimes it's problematic. If someone is in the habit of getting in bar fights every few times he goes out drinking, would we be justified or even well-served to put him in jail until we're sure he would never go out drinking again? That could be decades!

It goes without saying that this idea is extremely problematic with respect to "crimes" against fictitious "property" like we have here.

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bjustin 4894 days ago
>Well, there is an idea that they should stay in jail until we are reasonably sure they don't pose a danger to society / won't re-offend.

Sounds quite a bit slowly than actively trying to reform them.

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pyre 4894 days ago
Sorry, I wasn't entirely clear. I meant actively trying to reform them, but not releasing them until we know that they are reformed.

Some people seem to have the idea that reforming criminals is just a bunch of 'bleeding hearts' going into the prisons and singing 'kumbaya' with the prisoners, then releasing them as 'reformed.'

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