Saudi girl, 13, sentenced to 90 lashes

[Bill of Rights]

Sentences have gotten progressively harsher over the years, and there is less and less consideration for what you're saying.

No. Sentences have gotten longer, not harsher. When the scum of society have climate-controlled facilities, cable TV, and workout facilities and no responsibility to work to achieve those things, that is not harsh.

Now, I used to know a guy pretty high up on the chain in the Federal prison system and he opened my eyes to some issues. For one, just because they put a wide variety of people in the same prison doesn't mean they're the same type of person. Some crimes are relatively benign, others much worse. Though they do a better job now of segregating, you can still have a wide disparity in the type of criminal forced to live together.

Next, the people who run the prisons are real people with families. To control the prison population you need to have a way to reward and punish. If you can't trade some time for good behavior, you don't give the prisoners an incentive not to do things that make life more dangerous for each other, and for the guards, who haven't been convicted of anything. The "good behavior" is built into the sentence.

How about an easier job (e.g. prison office trustee vs. prison kitchen vs. road crew chain gang) to do? How about the possibility of earning a hot meal or a hot shower, as close to alone as a guarded prisoner can be? It would be far more difficult to do in this geographic location, but the kind of thing I see as workable would follow along the lines of the "tent city jail" made popular by Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Say what you want about it, but his usual answer to complaints is, "If you don't like it, don't come back!" and y'know.... it seems to work.

It's a myth that life is too easy for prisoners.

Now, the real deterrent is likliehood of getting caught. Or, of being shot by an armed citizen. Making prisons harsher has never worked as a deterrent to crime. The people who end up in prison don't think that way, they tend to be the immediate gratification type, who can't think ahead as to what their actions are, or they are the type that have difficulty controlling their impulses. Unless you're just going to lock everyone up for life for every offense - which would be expensive, but effective - then you must treat different types of prisoners differently, and you must have some kind of program to at least turn some around. The recidivism rates are high to be sure, but they are not 100%. Prison does turn some of them around.

The possibility of earning a HS diploma via GED, sure.. I can get behind that. The possibility of learning a trade... something harmless, like furniture repair or construction... but I think they should be *working* to earn something tangible... The whole "good behavior" time thing is far overused, IMHO: When you get a sentence of 20 years, I could see maybe earning 2 years off of that. (10%)... not have it be automatic that if you don't get in a fight, you can count on half of that time just evaporating. What about the victims' rights to be secure? If their attacker is out after only half his sentence served, what of their rights? (though non-violent offenses might qualify for that kind of reward.)

As for the "backdoor fun" in the showers, etc., well... I suppose it's insulting to the latter to say you'll have that any time you have a bunch of animals together.

Blessings,
Bill

 

[nedwards]

I think it is a little harsh to flog a girl for bring a cell phone to school though.

+1