Just a fun what if. Immortal vs life sentence. How would it be handled?

[Zantos]

Now, here is a hypothetical scenario I came up with. At the moment, there are times when someone is put away for a life sentence. This usually refers to how long they will live naturally. Then there are extreme cases where they get multiple life sentences. It was at these cases of extreme life sentences that I started wandering, how would they even define a life sentence in this case should the individual life past a certain age? Then it brought up, what if we were talking about someone who is immortal? Obviously even giving them one life sentence would be odd since their natural life time is, well, forever. You would have some moral situations to go over when it comes to being a just and unjust sentence. On one end, life sentence means as long as they will life. On another, someone who is immortal cannot die. It could be easily argued that their time doesn't fit the crime.

So, how do you suppose a life sentence would be handled for someone who was immortal? Remember, just a hypothetical situation.



Just a note: Please do not turn this into any form of political debate concerning weather or not life sentences are justified when in question about normal situations. This is for a completely fictional situation involving someone who is immortal and how a life sentence would be handled.

[Natureseer]

personally i wouldnt describe this particular what-if as "fun"

[spinner981]

People aren't immortal, and since life sentences only apply to mortals then there would be no such thing as a life sentence of somebody that is immortal.

I am sure that if this situation truly came up, they would just decide on lengths of times for a person to be in prison and just put them in there for really long rather than a 'life sentence'.

[Xeones]

Depends on the legal system. Ever hear the phrase "consecutive life sentence"? It's because life sentences are really just several decades with chances of parole and the consecutive sentences keep them from getting that parole.

[Mukor]

if you're immortal means i don't have to feed you, and if i don't have to feed you i don't have to lock you in a prison and watch over you and spend tax payer money, so what i'd do is cement shoes, and throw your ass in the middle of the atlantic ocean. you may not die, but i don't have to: feed you, house you, or look at you, or waste tax payer money and you'll be pretty much forgotten. You'll wish you weren't immortal.

[Zantos]

People aren't immortal,

But thats the whole point here. A what if . We are going on the what if assumption that someone immortal was facing this scenario.

[Xeones]

if you're immortal means i don't have to feed you, and if i don't have to feed you i don't have to lock you in a prison and watch over you and spend tax payer money, so what i'd do is cement shoes, and throw your ass in the middle of the atlantic ocean. you may not die, but i don't have to: feed you, house you, or look at you, or waste tax payer money and you'll be pretty much forgotten. You'll wish you weren't immortal.

Are the invulnerable in addition to immortal? There are various levels to immortality.

[Zantos]

if you're immortal means i don't have to feed you, and if i don't have to feed you i don't have to lock you in a prison and watch over you and spend tax payer money, so what i'd do is cement shoes, and throw your ass in the middle of the atlantic ocean. you may not die, but i don't have to: feed you, house you, or look at you, or waste tax payer money and you'll be pretty much forgotten. You'll wish you weren't immortal.

Id like to point out that, more then likely, they would just walk back.

[YuneKirby]

Generally speaking, life sentences are intended for people who committed crimes so horrible we don't ever want to them to walk public streets again. Doesn't always work this way in practice, though.

As far as immortals getting life sentences, that's pretty much a prescription for a super villain, other powers or not. The person serving the sentence has infinite time to plan their escape, and subsequent revenge. Plus it seems unlikely you'd literally be able to hold them forever. Civilizations will decline, records get lost, etc. The next thing you know, Green Lantern of the year 9xxx comes across the forgotten prison of so-and-so, and lets them out. Oops.

[UnluckyAmateur]

The person in question most likely wouldn't have a life sentence unless they did something really off the wall. For the most part they would probably have like X amount of years in prison for committing whatever type of crime that they did.

[Sunseeker]

In theory, by the time civilization fell apart and they got out of prison, it wouldn't matter, since the society we were trying to protect from them no longer exists.

[Spalding]

id basically become an evil mastermind and plot a way to make everything crumble down. BY FIRE BE PURGED

[Radio]

Do something really corny like put them in a safe filled with cement, with an airpocket for their head with a camera so that people can watch the immortal suffer. Also, suspend the safe over a pool of mutated sea bass and sharks with laser beams attached to their head.

[KeirAdish]

Well, If they're immortal when you really think about it even 100 years would be a blip on their radar, But I would say the punishment would have to fit the crime.
They would be a special case where it would have to be like 50 years, even though its a blip on their radar can we justify holding them(and paying to hold them.) for hundreds or even thousands of years, not to mention that long being help would be inhumane as their very sanity would begin to rot away...

[Speedlance]

If a person kills 3 other persons, then gets 150 years per person, it's called a life sentence, but if you somehow live for 450 years, you would in theory be released.
But I'm fairly sure the laws would drasticly change if you were to live forever, or at the very least have you life span increased 10 fold for example.

[Xires]

Id like to point out that, more then likely, they would just walk back.

They wouldn't walk anywhere in the water with cement shoes as he stated. You'd be stuck in 1 spot.

I'd say if it were an immortal I would give them 100 years in prison.

[schwarzkopf]

Isn't a life sentence currently defined to be 25 years ?

[nyc81991]

A life sentence for someone who is literally immortal would be impossible. Simply because if you are truly immortal you would outlive everything, even the planet. Eventually you would be free.

[Blueobelisk]

Isn't a life sentence currently defined to be 25 years ?

Omg yes someone who speaks the actual truth. This is what I learned in school too. A life sentence is 25 years.

[Deleted]

If people was immortal, then the penalty is changed, hereby you are judge to therapy/psychological help until you are cured, if that is not possible forced change of personality "death of personality or part of it like the violent part"