Rosen2012 said:
Superfly CJ said:
I'm not sure about over there in the states, but as a British citizen, I would say all this talk of 'jail them for life and let them burn in hell and die and then burn some more etc.' is a tad regressive.
As far as the justice system is concerned, reformation should always be placed far beyond punishment. I mean, what these men, and this girl, did, is terrible, but throwing away the key accomplishes nothing.
Take them all to jail, and let them free when it can be proven that they are no longer a danger to themselves and those around them- simple as. One life has already been 'ruined', why ruin any more? People can change, and people will change. They'll have to live with their mistakes and the guilt that accompanies those mistakes for a lifetime- get the reformation part right, and that should be 'punishment' enough.
I suppose that is acceptable at times, maybe even in this case. But lets say that they find some of the men at this party are serial pedophiles? That they rape children on a regular biases?
I live in Florida, and for whatever reason, plenty of pedos who get caught and 'reformed' in other states move down here and just start up again. Can I still feel that they should be taken out for public execution?
That's where the problems start to show. It's a case of knowing when someone has been reformed and whether to let them go or not. There's also the occasional case where someone cannot be changed, whether it be due to a mental condition or simply an extreme defecit of morals.
Yet it still beats practically condemning someone to death- all the people involved in this case should at least be given the chance to start again. In my opinion, if the fifteen year old were to go to prison and be released a week later, truly reformed and remorseful, then all the better.
Hell, if I were to be murdered tommorrow, and my murderer released from jail ten weeks later, genuinely guilty and reintegrated into society, I'd harbour no grudges (not least because i'd be dead)- i'd rather my death be met with a 'birth' (or rebirth, rather), than another arbitrary death (as would be the case with capital punishment).
If it weren't so tired and cliched, this would be the optimal time to give
that Gandhi quote.