cruel and unusual punishment

[Wilian]

And if we made the death penalty mandatory for all crimes, we would have 0% repeat offenders!

Genious! :O

[Deleted]

Who are in solitary confinement for the time of life sentence?

Only one I know and can think of is Anders Behrig Breivik, but he would probably rather get his type of confinement than be executed in the foreseeable future. Plus, he can send letters back and forth and probably have some interaction with the staff.

I don't think prisons in the west at least just throw people in a dungeon hole and feed them through the door for a time corresponding to a life sentence.

[derpkitteh]

Who are in solitary confinement for the time of life sentence?

Only one I know and can think of is Anders Behrig Breivik, but he would probably rather get his type of confinement than be executed in the foreseeable future. Plus, he can send letters back and forth and probably have some interaction with the staff.

I don't think prisons in the west at least just throw people in a dungeon hole and feed them through the door for a time corresponding to a life sentence.

breivik is serving a very comfortable sentence with a ps2 to play games on in his cushy cell. that's justice alright...

[Dezerte]

How many times should someone who commit serious crimes be allowed to reoffend before being locked up for a longer period?

The problem is not that they are let go, the problem is that they are let go without having gone through any meaningful rehabilitation. The justice system doesn't work that way unfortunately, this and the fact that the field of psychology & rehabilitation still has some ways to go is what's stopping us. We feel content robbing the criminal of their years in life, even if the end result is a releases re-offender.

Vengeful convictions often result in vengeful criminals. When no attempts are made to rehabilitate them, and instead thrown away from society it's not surprising when they re-offend. You may think this is an argument for the death penalty then, but it's a matter of morality. It is more moral to try and rehabilitate a person than to murder them.

[Avada Kedavra]

locking people up is not a good solution -

recidivism is still a problem, which means that prison, being the current solution, is not working. People make bad decisions, should it cost them their life? You only get one life and i dont think people really grasp how valuable that concept is.

[Eggers]

locking people up is not a good solution -

recidivism is still a problem, which means that prison, being the current solution, is not working. People make bad decisions, should it cost them their life? You only get one life and i dont think people really grasp how valuable that concept is.

Well, it depends on the crime. Ideally, the punishment should fit the crime. If they are a murderer, we must lock them up forever.

This goes back to the OP's question about solitary confinement. However, I don't think it's very common for someone to serve a life sentence in solitary.

[Sainur]

locking people up is not a good solution -

recidivism is still a problem, which means that prison, being the current solution, is not working. People make bad decisions, should it cost them their life? You only get one life and i dont think people really grasp how valuable that concept is.

Well, too bad for them. If they decide to be a criminal, and walk the path of a scumbag... too bad for them. They've made a wrong choice and they chose poorly.

[plat0nic]

A lot of time to get fondly familiar with oneself. Maybe roleplay two personalities and try and hook up with yourself?

[Deleted]

Some prisoners actually like being in jail. For the sake of structure and predictability in their lives. They can't seem to create that for themselves outside.
I don't know if life sentence is a cruel punishment. Depending on the prison and the individual. Who knows, what if the prisoner turns out innocent but they don't discover that until many years later. The person could be freed and live their life.

[Captain N]

I posted this last week in another thread:

Someone being wrongfully convicted seldom happens these days. In fact its more common that someone who is guilty walks away free..OJ Simpson, Casey Anthony, etc. Could new evidence be brought to light on someone who has sat on Death Row for 20 years and prove their innocence? Of course...but is it likely to happen? No.

People complain about those on welfare stealing money from taxpayers. Why aren't people complaining that the guy who shot up a movie theater or a school getting food, shelter, computer access, a library, an education, and a gym at everyone elses expense? People complain that the death penalty is a revenge tactic, and that we has human beings have no right to judge whether another lives or dies. Well that aforementioned person decided he was judge, jury, and executioner to those people who went to see a movie and those children who went to school - but wait...your argument is we're better than that guy, right? That because he killed children or movie-goers that refusing to end him makes us better?

It doesn't make us better...It makes us worse. Look at your crime-ridden neighborhoods and the amount of repeat offenders that go in and out of prison. Armed Robbery, Rape, Murder, Assault....once you've done a stint or two in the pokey you get a reputation just like anywhere else. For the most part you're part of your own Gated Community and despite the Hollywood rendition most inmates look out for one another once they get to know them. You bounce in and out of jail because rehabilitation has already proven to be a failure and we live in a society that condemns people for their mistakes. Most businesses will not hire someone with a single felony charge let alone many of them. So what you have is no better than the very welfare people complain that those making minimum wage or "Stealing from us" except in this case we've awarded someone their very own tax-free lifestyle for committing multiple crimes!

Human Rights are perfect for people who actually act like human beings...people who kill, rape, torture, or harm other people just because they can are not Humans. Those are animals.

[Templar 331]

couldn't you make a case that a life sentence in solitary confinement is cruel and unusual punishment? wouldn't it be more humane to just kill these people?

Lifers aren't in solitary for their sentences. They are only sent there when they've committed an act in the prison and need to be separated from the rest of the prison population. And that goes for any inmate.

[Deleted]

The problem is not that they are let go, the problem is that they are let go without having gone through any meaningful rehabilitation. The justice system doesn't work that way unfortunately, this and the fact that the field of psychology & rehabilitation still has some ways to go is what's stopping us. We feel content robbing the criminal of their years in life, even if the end result is a releases re-offender.

Vengeful convictions often result in vengeful criminals. When no attempts are made to rehabilitate them, and instead thrown away from society it's not surprising when they re-offend. You may think this is an argument for the death penalty then, but it's a matter of morality. It is more moral to try and rehabilitate a person than to murder them.

I asked how many times they should be allowed to reoffend before being locked up for a longer period. I don't care about the rehabilitation or not. If they reoffend, how many times should they be allowed to do so before being locked up?

[Deleted]

A whole life tariff without the possibility of parole was ruled a breach against human rights in the U.K by an EU court, i'm not sure where it's going, and it's not directly related; But i felt it was relevant.

[Rixis]

I imagine if I were in prison I'd prefer to be alone.

[Dezerte]

I asked how many times they should be allowed to reoffend before being locked up for a longer period. I don't care about the rehabilitation or not. If they reoffend, how many times should they be allowed to do so before being locked up?

Why were they let go in the first place? That would be my first question. And let's say we did believe we had rehabilitated this person but we were wrong, then I'd say this person goes back to rehabilitation, this time making it unlikely for them to be released unless some breakthrough is made.

Because in a vengeance oriented justice system, where we don't have death penalties but jail time. It's an inevitability that they will be released from prison without actually tackling the problem, we're simply hoping that prison was a deterrent enough (it isn't).

[Ahhdurr]

Just force criminals to read all the terrible posts on these forums for a few days and they'll just kill themselves.

[Deleted]

Why were they let go in the first place? That would be my first question. And let's say we did believe we had rehabilitated this person but we were wrong, then I'd say this person goes back to rehabilitation, this time making it unlikely for them to be released unless some breakthrough is made.

Because in a vengeance oriented justice system, where we don't have death penalties but jail time. It's an inevitability that they will be released from prison without actually tackling the problem, we're simply hoping that prison was a deterrent enough (it isn't).

And if no rehabilitation helps? What then?

How do you know if the rehabilitation helped or not?

[Deleted]

I like the way you think

Stole a carrot?

That's a death penalty.

Punched the mascot in a chicken costume for a bet?

That's a death penalty.

Quadruple homicide?

That's a death penalty.

I'm enjoying these scenarios...

[Deleted]

And if no rehabilitation helps? What then?

How do you know if the rehabilitation helped or not?

Them not re-offending is a pretty good indicator.

Those who've offended may now be in education, or training, or working; All the prior would indicate a successful reintegration within society, pointing that the rehabilitation effort was sufficient.

As for people whom aren't able to be rehabilitated, i believe in confinement with the possibility of release as opposed to death.

To borrow someones wording, death is so final, yet living is full of possibilities.

[Deleted]

Them not re-offending is a pretty good indicator.

I'm talking about for their release. How do you know it's worked so they can be released? Take a shot with it, nothing more than a guess?