on crime and punishment vs rehabilitation

[jam.on.the.toasts]

So I was wondering on your thoughts about whether a judicial system should base sentences on punishment or rehabilitation. discuss

I'm headed off to bed and have nothing to do tomorrow so I figure post this get people to discuss and I have something mildly amusing to read tomorrow huzzah.

 

[Shadowfaze]

Bring back hanging, and/or public flogging. That'll teach 'em. or not.

 

[tomtom94]

One shot at rehab, then one shot through the heart / life inprisonment / whatever.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Dangerous people need to be detained, there's no argueing that. Simply locking people away with no consideration as to why they commited a crime is the real issue. You find the problem and try and fix it. Some people are just 'evil' however, and no amount of psyche analysis and rehab sessions will work, but every person in the system should at least get the opportunity to change. The state also needs to help certain people, if a homeless person is arrested for stealing food, throwing them back out onto the street after their sentence without support will change nothing.

 

[Marmooset]

I think the prime question to ask in deciding between rehabilitation and punishment for an individual is this: Did they touch my stuff?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

one of the weird things in the "crime and punishment vs rehabilitation" sphere: public humiliation something a lot of modern legal systems have left behind actually works really well.

I actually wrote a paper on public shaming at university. It's quite an interesting topic. It works in small communities, not so much in big cities. Shaming only really works if the person being shamed actually cares what people think. I care more about what my friends and family think than any stranger on the street. A person will most likely feel more shame in front of 20 friends/relatives than 100 strangers. I believe the system is still being used in small villages in China and is quite an effective way to deal with people who break the law.

 

[Ham_authority95]

Whichever one is the cheapest and prevents them from doing the crime again.

However, we must also take into account of how serious the crime is in the first place.