46 replies to this topic

[Jacki O.]

i personally don't think that our legal system is advanced enough to allow the death penalty as a sentence.

but i also don't think that rapists, murderers, and child molestors should get 15 yrs and then be let out back onto the streets.

however, i dont think i'd be strong enough to not want to see someone responsible for the death of someone that i loved be put to death. i dont know that i wouldn't want to see that person be executed. I dont think it would be a vindication or fulfilling or make me feel better about losing someone i loved. it would just be the idea that that person is no longer here, causing more pain.
but this is all speculation on my part. i've never (thankfully) had to go through this shit.

like i want the person who killed Dr. Tiller put in prison for life. but would i want to see him put to death? what would that accomplish? it's just death for more death.

[JJames]

this sucks

[JRC]

Prison doesn't work, it shouldn't just be about "paying" for crimes, it should be about rehabilitation.
Becoming a better person then when you go in.
Has anyone been rehabilitated?
Is it possible?
Knowing so would really improve my opinion of the world.

As for capitol punishment, ultimately I don't believe it, but there are some criminals I think I could execute if asked.

On the radio they keep saying "well if this guy is tied to the anti-abortion movement then it looks bad for them."
HE KILLED AN ABORTION DOCTOR and posted on anti-choice boards, how much more connection does he need?
Is there a hate-freedom membership card he needs to have?

J

[Jacki O.]

some people can't be rehabilitated

i dont think our prison system is great either but some people don't belong within the general public.

[Rocquero]

some people can't be rehabilitated

i dont think our prison system is great either but some people don't belong within the general public.

agreed. i think there is such a thing as just "bad people". sure, not all of them, but they're out there. i like it better when we know exactly where they are.

[glitterbot]

some people can't be rehabilitated

i dont think our prison system is great either but some people don't belong within the general public.

i completely agree. the rate of recidivism on sexual offenders, particularly child molesters, is very high. chemical castration does not work because it depends on the cooperation of the offender in question. sure, it might work as long as they are on their meds, but if they go off...they go off.

[donald]

I disagree that people cannot be rehabilitated, but I do not think we are setup to rehabilitate people properly.

Incarceration is NOT rehabilitation. It really only makes people worse off after they get out. You might as well keep people in prison for life if you are going to put them in for 10 years. I have had family members that have been through the system and the outcome aftewards is only negative.

6 weeks ago, my thoughts might have been different, but I really do believe that if someone is in a positive environment and are taught to do the right things that they will will do good in this world. I would have thought that was pretty naive when I was younger but not so much from some of the stuff I have seen lately. Most anyone who is a bad person is nurtured that way and takes lots of work to reverse the negative. Some people may never be rehabiliated, but that is not true for a good portion of people out there.

[donald]

I am re-reading and noticing I am in agreement.

Yes, SOME people cannot be rehabiliated, and yes, SOME people should not be allowed in the general public.

[dharma_bum]

what would buddah do?

[Jacki O.]

You can send condolences to Dr. Tiller's family and staff here.

[JRC]

I am re-reading and noticing I am in agreement.

Yes, SOME people cannot be rehabiliated, and yes, SOME people should not be allowed in the general public.

Agreed as well, some people are probably just too far gone or F*ed up.
Although, I bet (or like to think) there are probably a lot more who could be rehabilitated if the system wasn't such a mess.
If we spent as much on social services/mental health ect . . . as we do on wars . . .
bla bla bla.
Of course, its not just the money spent, its having it sucessfully applied.

JRC

[raubhimself]

I don't know that I can trust any government-run institution to decide the methods for mandatory rehabilitation. For one thing, there probably wouldn't be enough diversity in treatments, and it's way to easy for treatment methods to swing towards certain biases (i.e. Christianity, etc). To the tin-foil hat wearing side of me, it also seems like in a prison environment, treatment would be less like the "help us help yourself" style of Celebrity Rehab and more along the lines of "we're going to reprogram you, whether you like it or not." Then it would lead to people being busted for minor crimes like simple possession of marijuana or profiling people of certain racial and cultural backgrounds to take advantage of the reprogramming.

Pretty extreme, I know, but I'd like to think that if I went to jail, I'd be allowed to atone for my sins by my own rigorous personal evaluation rather than some doc getting in my head.



This is a terrible tragedy. The man may have lived/worked on the edge of the law, but in this case vigilante justice and the manner in which it was acted out is just appalling.

[JRC]

I don't know that I can trust any government-run institution to decide the methods for mandatory rehabilitation. For one thing, there probably wouldn't be enough diversity in treatments, and it's way to easy for treatment methods to swing towards certain biases (i.e. Christianity, etc). To the tin-foil hat wearing side of me, it also seems like in a prison environment, treatment would be less like the "help us help yourself" style of Celebrity Rehab and more along the lines of "we're going to reprogram you, whether you like it or not." Then it would lead to people being busted for minor crimes like simple possession of marijuana or profiling people of certain racial and cultural backgrounds to take advantage of the reprogramming.

Pretty extreme, I know, but I'd like to think that if I went to jail, I'd be allowed to atone for my sins by my own rigorous personal evaluation rather than some doc getting in my head.

Agree a lot with what you say here.
J

[azwestdevil72]

what would buddah do?

The Buddha would realize that such is life and that life as we know it ultimately is suffering (Dukkha) in one way or another, but it matters not for it is all but delusion and a distraction from the path to Enlightenment.

[raubhimself]

what would buddah do?

The Buddha would realize that such is life and that life as we know it ultimately is suffering (Dukkha) in one way or another, but it matters not for it is all but delusion and a distraction from the path to Enlightenment.

I like the cut of your jib.