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First-time, non-violent criminals do not belong in prison.
August 28, 2022 at 8:33 am
In my opinion, prisons exist to protect Society (which includes criminals themselves) from those who would commit physical harm against persons or property and from chronic, repeat non-violent offenders who could simply be an excessive burden on the police, courts, insurance companies, etc
It is neither just nor cost-effective to punish non-violent offenders with jail time. Society can instead give them fines, list them on registries, make them do community service, monitor their movements, etc.
With the federal debt soaring to new heights, does the mass incarceration in the United States even make sense?
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RE: First-time, non-violent criminals do not belong in prison.
August 28, 2022 at 12:55 pm
(This post was last modified: August 28, 2022 at 1:00 pm by BrianSoddingBoru4.)
(August 28, 2022 at 8:33 am)Jehanne Wrote: In my opinion, prisons exist to protect Society (which includes criminals themselves) from those who would commit physical harm against persons or property and from chronic, repeat non-violent offenders who could simply be an excessive burden on the police, courts, insurance companies, etc
It is neither just nor cost-effective to punish non-violent offenders with jail time. Society can instead give them fines, list them on registries, make them do community service, monitor their movements, etc.
With the federal debt soaring to new heights, does the mass incarceration in the United States even make sense?
I can think of plenty of non-violent, first time offenders who merit prison time.
-Ponzi schemers who bilk pensioners out of their savings.
-Caregivers who do the same.
-Manufacturers who knowingly sell defective products that cause harm.
-DUI offenders (yes, first time).
-Poachers.
-Slumlords.
-Purveyors of child pornography.
Want to ease the burden on you prison system? Decriminalize drugs, then you’ll have plenty of room for the above.
Boru
Edit: You know what punishment-by-fine is? Legalization of criminal activity for the wealthy.
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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RE: First-time, non-violent criminals do not belong in prison.
August 28, 2022 at 12:58 pm
I suppose that this is one of the positive things about the $30 trillion in national debt, in that mass incarceration will become less affordable over time!
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RE: First-time, non-violent criminals do not belong in prison.
August 28, 2022 at 1:02 pm
(August 28, 2022 at 12:58 pm)Jehanne Wrote: I suppose that this is one of the positive things about the $30 trillion in national debt, in that mass incarceration will become less affordable over time!
The solution to mass incarceration is to make fewer actions criminal offenses, not to reward the behaviours I listed with the non-punishment punishments you listed.
Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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RE: First-time, non-violent criminals do not belong in prison.
August 28, 2022 at 1:12 pm
I don't want a purveyor of crack on my neighborhood street corner.
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RE: First-time, non-violent criminals do not belong in prison.
August 28, 2022 at 1:39 pm
There already is leniency for first-time offenders.
Quote:This is because first-time offenders are usually treated with more leniency than those who are habitual offenders (those who have offended more than once). It is often believed that first-time offenders are less likely to reoffend after committing their first crime when they have no other history of criminal offenses.
https://vindicatelaw.com/how-can-being-a...your-case/
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
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RE: First-time, non-violent criminals do not belong in prison.
August 28, 2022 at 1:50 pm
If you need to be listed on a registry, your offence is not non-violent, and you do need to be separated from society.
Coming in the side door with the same topic doesn't make it a different topic.
“If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.” — Confucius
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RE: First-time, non-violent criminals do not belong in prison.
August 28, 2022 at 2:08 pm
(This post was last modified: August 28, 2022 at 2:11 pm by BrianSoddingBoru4.)
(August 28, 2022 at 1:12 pm)Jehanne Wrote: I don't want a purveyor of crack on my neighborhood street corner.
But he’s one of those non-violent offenders. You want to fine him AND force him to move? Or maybe you want him to do his community service in any community but yours.
NIMBY
Boru
Edit: and just FYI, mass incarceration in the US is a fucking money machine. The benefits from all that slave labour greatly eclipses what it costs to feed and house those slaves, so your whinging about the national debt is immaterial.
Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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RE: First-time, non-violent criminals do not belong in prison.
August 28, 2022 at 8:54 pm
Burn down all the prisons. Problem solved.
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
~ Erin Hunter
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RE: First-time, non-violent criminals do not belong in prison.
August 28, 2022 at 10:12 pm
(August 28, 2022 at 2:08 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: (August 28, 2022 at 1:12 pm)Jehanne Wrote: I don't want a purveyor of crack on my neighborhood street corner.
But he’s one of those non-violent offenders. You want to fine him AND force him to move? Or maybe you want him to do his community service in any community but yours.
NIMBY
Boru
Edit: and just FYI, mass incarceration in the US is a fucking money machine. The benefits from all that slave labour greatly eclipses what it costs to feed and house those slaves, so your whinging about the national debt is immaterial.
Boru
Legalizing drugs would mean giving such legitimacy, which means that a crack dealer could rent space right next to the neighborhood laundromat, probably making more money.
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