(November 8, 2016 at 2:00 pm)robvalue Wrote: This is a discussion I had with my wife recently, regarding something we heard in the news. A guy was using his phone at the wheel, and crashed into another car killing several people. He was given a jail sentence, around 10 years I think.
This got me thinking about the suitability of such a sentence. I think it's an interesting point to discuss. To me, the primary purpose of prison is to remove dangerous people from society. The secondary purpose, where possible, should be to rehabilitate them. This could sometimes be achieved simply by stopping them doing what they were doing, and giving them a new environment in which to reflect. The third and least important is punishment.
Why do we punish? If there is no other purpose to it, the only reasons we could come up with are "justice" and acting as a deterrent. The second I can understand the pragmatic value in, although it feels unsatisying to me when applied to adults.
In this particular case, it was an accident. The guy didn't mean to kill anyone. Of course, he is accountable. But what does anyone gain by him being in jail for 10 years? Is there a better alternative? As a rough suggestion, how about being banned from driving and being indebted to society in some way, being forced to "pay back" in a positive way, with prison time being reserved for refusal to adhere?
The immediate problem would be people suddenly not caring about running people over by accident. Would this really follow?
I'm not saying the current or alternate "punishments" are right or wrong, I'm very much unsure what would be best. I'm interested in peoples' thoughts!
I've thought about this before myself, and it's a great question.
I find myself torn on this issue. I'd say I'm a believer that prison should be about keeping society safe and about rehabilitation. Just as you said. I do not believe in the death penalty as I see it is not necessary to keep society safe and don't believe in that sort of "punishment."
However, I can see how a punishment for negligence that ends up taking other people's lives accidentally can work as a way to encourage people to be careful. It can be a reinforcement by giving the person consequences for his negligent actions, so that people think twice before careless behavior. In that sense, it does fall under the category of "keeping society safe."
Though I'd say 10 years for that is a bit much. Five tops.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
-walsh
