Death Penalty
I am basically for it, in a few cases. But please understand that it is against Christian doctrine of forgiveness and abstinence from judging others. Jesus died the death penalty (UNjustly!).
Death penalty is a humane thing to do, rather than life in jail. Even an animal shouldn't have to suffer living a whole life in a cage.
This is what gets me in trouble. Gets me the name of bleeding-heart liberal.
You hear a lot about how cruel the death penalty is. But I think life in prison is much more cruel.
When it comes to punishment and jail, the question should be: "What are we trying to achieve?" Is it punishment, deterrence or rehabilitation?
In civil cases, focus should be on restitution.
Tough sentences don't achieve much, because people don't even know about them. The public in general has no idea how many people are in jail, what for or for how long.
Sentences should be multiplied by a gravity factor, expressing the intent or the likelihood that something serious would happen.
Criminal records should only be open to justice system, not to employers (except schools to check for child molesters). Otherwise, people out of jail could never find jobs anymore.
"He who is without sin, cast the first stone". Problem in this country: when law is not observed, associate higher penalty. This is the case for more and more offenses, whether serious or not. Eventually, what has happened, is a system where almost everybody is a criminal (and would probably have to spend half their life in jail). Now, some get caught and others don't. Obviously, the poor (or less intelligent) get caught more often than the rich.
Mandatory federal sentencing to long prison terms: one might as well die.
Revenge or vindication are not christian values
When I see solitary confinement for violent criminals, where they do not see another human being, and cannot even see the difference between day and night, I can't help but think that I couldn't do that to a dog. Maybe again, I am just a better christian than I thought, because there is no way you could reconcile that with the bible. But anyway, my point is: do those poor bastards the favor of a bullet through the head.
1 in 35 Amercans are in jail, on parole or awaiting trial. Kind of makes a joke out of the concept of "land of the free". It would be OK if all people in trouble with the law were violent offenders, but it is hard to believe that 3% of the population is violent AND also gets caught. This also means that roughly 3% of your taxes goes towards keeping those 3% in jail.
I would be all for more police, if police focused only on preventing violent crime. Unfortunately, they end up writing speeding tickets, picking up prostitutes, busting teenage parties and picking up people for having the wrong kind of sex in the wrong place with the wrong partner. That makes me wish there were less police, even if it meant a slight increase in the probability of being mugged.
Here is the difference between Europe and America. In Europe, the admitted goal of punishment, is to rehabilitate. In America, the goal is simply to get the problem off the streets. There is no way someone could spend 5 years in jail and come out normal. (I would go nuts after less than one year.) So, the question we need to ask ourselves is: what good can possibly be achieved by putting someone away for 50 years, or funnier yet, for 200 years? Can't we just kill him right away. Provided the person ever came out, forget finding a job or someone who cares. He could either go straight to an insane asylum, or probably simply back to jail until he finally dies.
US has largest jail population in the world. Do we have the largest population of criminals? Of crazies. And if so, is jail the most economical solution? Is it something to be proud of?
Harsher punishment does not always result in better respect for law. People don't know about it anyway, or expect not to be caught.
Restitution makes more sense than jail. Jail should only be used if threat to society. Monitoring is better (GPS). Exile would have been ideal, but not practical.
I would not mind police if they were there to address violent crime. Unfortunately, they end up harassing teenagers, picking up drunks and prostitutes and writing speeding tickets.
I would not mind paying for more jails, if all of them were going to be used for properly convicting violent criminals. Unfortunately, all that money ends up being spent housing drug offenders, which I really do not care about.
Gradation:
- accident
- civil case
- non-violent crime
- violent crime (include rape, just for PC)
Why do I care. Because, despite the fact that I don't go to church too often, I do consider myself a christian. Christians are supposed to forgive. It hurts my conscience whan we lock up people without allowing them a second chance ever. I love people. I trust people. Call me naive, call me positive, but I have never met anyone in whom I could not find a little bit of good.
Crime: in wealthy suburbs, there is much less of it than people think. In poor neighborhoods, much more. Statistics from poor neigborhoods are used to scare voters in rich neighborhoods. Also, definition of crime is misleading. Prostitution and drugs may be considered crimes, but I really don't care.
The word "crime" is misleading. Often interpreted as violent crime, but it isn't. Most jails are full of non-violent criminals.
Crime sells. Locking up people is good politics. Makes you look tough. Good for careers of prosecutors. Bad for people being locked up. Bad for our pocketbooks.
Alternatives to jail:
- parole
- supervision
- restitution
