(June 18, 2015 at 11:19 pm)rexbeccarox Wrote:(June 18, 2015 at 8:22 pm)Dystopia Wrote: I disagree with the last part because it should be the system deciding the penalty, not the other way around. It's like someone saying "hey I don't want 25 years in jail, I want it for life" - It's not up to individual people to decide their own punishment, you get what the states decides because it's supposedly the most appropriate destiny.
I don't think of the DP as punishment, as it were, and I don't think the justice system should *necessarily* be about punishment. Much like the argument we had a few days ago, I think people have a right to their own bodily autonomy, and if someone is facing his or her entire life in prison, they should have the right to die.
I agree on both counts.
We should not be concerned with "punishing" people. That's just revenge. It's base and unenlightened. No good comes from hurting someone else. Anyone who takes pleasure or even satisfaction from doing that has a problem IMO. The justice system should be about restitution to the victim, rehabilitation and deterrence - NOT punishment.
I believe those imprisoned should be provided with the means to take their own life if they so desire. I believe that on a theoretical basis anyway. It might be very difficult to do that right in practice because you would have to make sure prison staff don't deliberately drive inmates to suicide. It would be difficult to police the prison staff and difficult to prove transgressions.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein