What Good does Prison do?

Maybe they'll learn something? I think a program that actually gets it through their heads what they did was wrong would work much better.
Obviously if they are in an unstable mental-phase, letting them walk around without restraint would be hazardous, but locking them away won't solve anything.

So what about the person who died? Don't you think their family has a bit of resentment or hatred against the person?

I'm sure they do. That's their problem. If they want to take illegal action on the criminal, they're immature hypocrites.

Theres absolutely no reason for you to take someone else the only thing they have total control of, their life.

Huh?

Depends what you look at...


Politicians that get impeached and convicted for taking bribes learn their lesson most of the time after not having the life style they are used to for a year or 2...


Killers:Sometimes learn their lesson, since being locked up for at least 10 years,doing nothing in a cell with an hour of lesiure time...



Some don't, and our taxes(at least the people who pay,including me) go into Jails to feed criminals...I really believe in the death sentence the most.

Rehab isn't going to solve anything. It's just like jail. They all come out in the end saying they are going to change and don't. Either way, I don't want those losers on the street and I for sure don't want the pedo's wandering the street trying to take my children.

The cost for 1 single prisoner in Michigan is just over $30,000 a year.

Rehab lets them live a life while getting Help, no?
They can work, visit family, ect.
Jail's policy has you in there for so long and, unless you misbehave, you get out at the end of that time. Therapy isn't based on the time you stay in it, it's based on how you deal with it. You get out when you're ready, not when the calender says a certain number.

The prison system is fucked up. 1% of all Americans are in Prison...1%!

What we need are rehabs, more schools, and phychologists/social workers running around.

Rehab lets them live a life while getting Help, no?
They can work, visit family, ect.
Jail's policy has you in there for so long and, unless you misbehave, you get out at the end of that time. Therapy isn't based on the time you stay in it, it's based on how you deal with it. You get out when you're ready, not when the calender says a certain number.

Not all rehab's are like that. Then again, not all jails are like that either. In jail they are allowed to get an education, work (if they are a certain level within the jail), visit with friends and family on designated days. Jail also has therapists that help the prisoners with their issues. Not saying it works, but it's there.

Some rehab's don't allow you to work, have visitors, get an education.

If the goal is rehab, why are their sentences based on time, not progress?

well, just because they feel sorry for what they did, doesn't mean they don't deserve some form of punishment. they might have been drinking and driving, and ran over someone. they'll receive rehab for drinking, or some form of counseling, but they still need to serve time for what they did :[

well, just because they feel sorry for what they did, doesn't mean they don't deserve some form of punishment. they might have been drinking and driving, and ran over someone. they'll receive rehab for drinking, or some form of counseling, but they still need to serve time for what they did :[

So they accidentally ran someone. Explain why they should suffer for that.

Where did the whole idea of Punishment come from?

So they accidentally ran someone. Explain why they should suffer for that.

Where did the whole idea of Punishment come from?

They ran over someone cuz they were stupid and drove drunk. Of course they should suffer for taking a innocent life. If someone killed a family member or friend of yours, wouldn't you want that person to suffer?

They ran over someone cuz they were stupid and drove drunk. Of course they should suffer for taking a innocent life. If someone killed a family member or friend of yours, wouldn't you want that person to suffer?

Not really. I'd be angry, but why should I spread my pain to them?
And eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

I guess prison only really serves its purpose only when your there for life. but can you think of any other real solutions?

Okay, I just can't let this topic go without my thoughts being expressed.

First, you cannot lump all prisoners together. A person who drives drunk and kills someone in an accident has the potential for rehab while in prison. The time served in prison forces them to be apart from society until a safe enough amount of time has passed by for the 'average' person to have realized what they did was wrong and learn from their mistakes.

You then have people who have compulsions. They have no control over a desire that is a crime against another person. They know what they are doing is hurting the other person but they cannot help themselves from still doing it. As a continued threat to society, these are the ones who probably should have life in prison.

You also have those who do things that are wrong due to a mental illness. I'm currently thinking of a new mother who was dealing with extreme post-partum depression and felt that the best thing she could do for her 5 children would be to kill them. A deep mental illness of this sort, even though potentially temporary such as PPD, will effect this mother for the rest of her life. For the rest of her life she will have to deal with the knowledge that she went over the edge and drowned her children. She may need to be locked up as she will be a danger to herself, but her mental illness would probably not be a threat to the general public.

The final crime that needs to be mentioned is done by those who have absolutely no conscience. There is nothing that you can do to help a person like that but to lock them up for good (or use the death penalty...but I won't get into my views on that). Most serial killers start by torturing animals. Then they move on step by step until they commit murder. It is a high for them to get away with a murder, so they continue doing it. Their only hope is a true miracle, and they are rare. If we stopped them at the first point of torturing animals, there may be some hope. But psychologists even disagree on that.

How do we fix it? I don't think we can. Civilizations have been dealing with issues of this sort for thousands of years. But we need to start by showing loving discipline to our children while they are young, and teaching them right from wrong from the onset. Also, parents need to be more involved with the lives of their children. Too many children are raising themselves because mom and dad are busy doing their own thing. Now please understand, all blame isn't on the parents. I know one couple who had 2 children...one of the children could be disciplined just by the parents saying "I can't believe you could be so naughty!" If they said that same line to the other child, they would have been laughed at by the child.

Okay, the pulpit is now available for the next person!
Thanks for letting me rant a bit.

So they accidentally ran someone. Explain why they should suffer for that.

Where did the whole idea of Punishment come from?

well, there's this whole law that says you can't drink and drive. you'll get thrown in jail for that alone, but to go ahead and run over someone? your looking at some serious time.:f6:

the idea of punishment is, someone does something bad, something their not supposed to do. they get a punishment, so that next time, they won't do it, knowing the same thing will happen again( a punishment), or second time around, something worse.

well, there's this whole law that says you can't drink and drive. you'll get thrown in jail for that alone, but to go ahead and run over someone? your looking at some serious time.:f6:

the idea of punishment is, someone does something bad, something their not supposed to do. they get a punishment, so that next time, they won't do it, knowing the same thing will happen again( a punishment), or second time around, something worse.

Ah, that makes sense, scare tactics are always the better idea. ._.

I think it came from human greed and need for revenge. Saying it teaches them something is not only far fetched, but just an excuse.

The reason prisons exist is for people who committed crimes and are at a high risk to be repeat offenders. Do you seriously think we should let rapists, pedophiles, and serial killers run free? It is the same reason why some mentally disabled/challenged people are put in asylums, for their own safety and ours as well.

However common criminals such as drug dealers being in jail can be blamed on our softening of punishment. In the 1880's cocaine was legal (it was commonly distributed to dock workers), but an alcoholic drink called absinthe(spelling?) was not. People who were caught importing absinthe were either deported or sent to prisons for the remainder of their life (which at that time wasn't long). All I'm saying is we should let them go free (natural progression of liberalism), but these criminals should be monitored in order to prevent laws from being violated.

I really do not fear the prison system at all. None of my family members are in prison, and I do not see myself going to prison in the future. Claims of it being pineappled up especially in poor areas? The average income in my area is ~27,000 USD per capita, which is about 15-20K USD below the national average and according to the local news, our prisons are emptier than the national average.

Perhaps 1% of the population willingly committed a crime? I'm not sure but all I know is that 99.999999% of all humans belong in Hell.

I have an idea for those that are given a life sentence. Put a tracker into them, throw them onto an island with rough seas surrounding it along with great walls. Make the island lush and inhabitable and throw some animals on it. If the people survive, they get to live there their whole lives, if they don't, well they were gonna die in prison anyways, why not just cut to the chase. This would be for extreme cases where the state may be against the death sentence but a life sentence in jail just isn't good enough (like serial killers or even genocidal maniacs).

People with liberal proclivities tend to feel sorry for the perps. They reason that because some cases get overturned with new DNA evidence and because they see the death penalty as wrong, etc., the perps deserve sympathy of some sort.

I just have to remind people reading this that DAs will not pursue a case that they think they cannot win. It's a political thing; you go for cases you think you can win. And people accused of crimes are generally guilty of doing them. While I feel sorry for the very few who were wrongfully imprisoned, it is disturbing to see people holding candlelight vigils for murderers that are about to get executed. Because of faulty thinking, such people tend to have much more sympathy for the murderer than for the person he murdererd, and the victim's family. The typical murderer in reality serves about 10 years. Then he is released, possibly to commit more crimes.

The prison system is flawed because it tends to harden criminals. That is, a criminal might go into prison, learn a lot more about crime than he knew before, become institutionalized, (that is 'used' to prison,) and then become a recurrent criminal once released. This is a flaw in the legal system because prison becomes both a training ground and a dumping ground for criminals. At the same time, leniency on people such as rapists and murderers is pretty much out of the question. So, while I don't have an answer for the flaws in the legal system, I cannot say that it should somehow be more lenient on the perps.

Personally, I disagree with putting people in prison for drugs, assault, and pretty much anything else. Good to know that they're off the streets, but our tax dollars go to building more prisons to prevent overcrowding.

The only solution I'd see fit is to make the current penalties for some crimes more harsh, such as a death/life sentence without parole for rapists, or repeat offenders.

If I could have it my way, there would be less tax dollars spent on enlarging and building new prisons if prisoners would just...die.

I'm also pretty sure fooling a therapist is hard.

It's not.

The only solution I'd see fit is to make the current penalties for some crimes more harsh, such as a death/life sentence without parole for rapists, or repeat offenders.

Death sentence is absolutely not a punishment, especially when you've done something bad enough to deserve it. Saves money, yes, but it's not a punishment.

reasons for prison and criminal sentencing:

retribution - act of taking revenge on a criminal perpetrator;
so people who do bad things get bad things to happen to them

incapacitation - the use of imposionment or other means to reduce the likelihood that an offender will commit future offenses;
i guess some people forget this one, because while in jail they can't commit future crimes

deterrence - seeks to prevent a particular offender from engaging in repeate criminality;
reason why most people don't commit crimes

rehabilitation - the attempt to reform a criminal offender;
may not be so effective, but it is important to try

restoration - attempts to make the victim "whole again"
impossible but the attempt is good, justice is served