Poll: Should immortal things be imprisoned forever, or for a time based on what evil they committed?

[Thaluikhain]

Now, it seems a common thing in fiction for immortal creatures who have done something really nasty to be locked up forever, but is that really fair?

Would it make more sense that you serve, say, 30 years for every person you eat, so a monster from beyond the stars that eats 20 people gets let out after 600 years, provided it behaves itself in prison?

Now, you could argue that for mass murder, you never get let out no matter how long you live (or that monsters from beyond the stars are dealt with under different rules), I guess, but I'm not sure about that.

(Also, how do you rehabilitate a monster from beyond the stars that's been in prison for 600 years?)

ETA: Not necessarily demons of any particular religion or aliens, they were just the first examples I thought of.

 

[Rowan93]

I would consider whether the being (thread title shouldn't say "demons", I totally thought it was a religious thing because actual bible demons are meant to be trapped in hell) thinks like we do.

A sapient being, that's sapient as we understand it, and that shares thoughts, desires and fears with us, should be treated like a person, and so I apply the rule I'd apply for people - don't punish them, rehabilitate them. Find out why they want to eat babies, and take that reason away from them. If you can't do that, they should stay locked up, but it's not about punishment and the prison-type-place shouldn't be too unpleasant.

If it doesn't think like we do, its values probably contradict ours in important ways. Burn them all, especially the children of the species.

EDIT: Oh, didn't see the "immortal" on the poll. Burn them anyway, then find a way to kill them permanently or just make sure they're no longer a problem. If they can't manoeuvre in a vacuum, you can shoot them into deep space. Really deep space - plot a trajectory that'll leave the galaxy completely.

 

[Catfood220]

Now, it seems a common thing in fiction for immortal creatures who have done something really nasty to be locked up forever, but is that really fair?

Would it make more sense that you serve, say, 30 years for every person you eat, so a monster from beyond the stars that eats 20 people gets let out after 600 years, provided it behaves itself in prison?

Now, you could argue that for mass murder, you never get let out no matter how long you live (or that monsters from beyond the stars are dealt with under different rules), I guess, but I'm not sure about that.

(Also, how do you rehabilitate a monster from beyond the stars that's been in prison for 600 years?)

The problem with releasing demons is that popular fiction always shows that if an ancient evil that has been imprisoned for performing evil deeds is released, said evil will promptly continue its evil plans, usually starting with the group of people who imprisoned it in the first place. So when the evil being begins its evil deeds again after being released, the people you need to imprison it again are usually pretty dead. Then you have an evil thing doing evil things and there is no one around to stop them other than a plucky hero.

The circle cannot be broken, we have seen it before in things like The Lord Of The Rings, Legend of Zelda, Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel etc. Evil things are evil and it will always end badly, so in my opinion, evil things need to be imprisoned for all eternity and even then they usually find someway to get out.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Well in theory, if they act like humans, and humans are the ones dealing out the punishment, shouldn't they be punished like humans?

That being said, if a human were to eat a baby, unless they have a really really good lawyer or live in a place with a really messed up justice system, isn't that a life sentence? It might be worse for a being that lives a couple thousand years, but a life sentence is a life sentence.

 

[DoPo]

Well, depending on what interpretation you go for. I can't think of any demons at the moment who were sentenced and imprisoned or anything remotely similar - mostly demons are imrpisoned forever because otherwise they would DESTROY THE WHOLE WORLD. You know, something that tops all crimes I can think of. Combined.

Also, the demons aren't just "breaking the law" because they feel like it, they are depicted as having no other actual choice - their very being and reason for existence is to commit "crimes" as we define them. They may be sentient, sapient and have free will but yet, they would still act against society at all occasions they can. So it's not that they did something nasty - nasty is the only thing they do and would ever do. Imprisonment is (in some countries) a preventive detention. Well, demons aren't being punished for the wrongs they did, they are being stopped from committing any more of them.

 

[Scarim Coral]

You assume that demon will abide by human laws let alone if that demon feel any empathy and remorse. Even then would that demon view us human to be equal in the first place? I mean the demons I think about are just view us human as bugs therefore they feel no remorse for their action toward us.

 

[Thaluikhain]

You assume that demon will abide by human laws let alone if that demon feel any empathy and remorse. Even then would that demon view us human to be equal in the first place? I mean the demons I think about are just view us human as bugs therefore they feel no remorse for their action toward us.

Is remorse necessary? As long as the thing doesn't actually break any laws for whatever reason, does it matter what it thinks of humans?

 

[Scarim Coral]

You assume that demon will abide by human laws let alone if that demon feel any empathy and remorse. Even then would that demon view us human to be equal in the first place? I mean the demons I think about are just view us human as bugs therefore they feel no remorse for their action toward us.

Is remorse necessary? As long as the thing doesn't actually break any laws for whatever reason, does it matter what it thinks of humans?

Yes especially when you used the said demon eat people in the example. I assume when you said release it once it had done its time as in being release back into the human world or do you mean back to its realm?
Also the fact that the laws was made by human (or are you thinking of other laws created by gods or something higher than human) then what reasons for the demon won't try it again? Or would it had develop a fear toward human or simple doesn't want to get to go back to prison would be enough to prevent the demon doing it again?
Either way I think the demon must feel something toward us human as equal would it to really consider not breaking the law again (especially if it used to eat humans).

 

[HardkorSB]

Now, it seems a common thing in fiction for immortal creatures who have done something really nasty to be locked up forever, but is that really fair?

Would it make more sense that you serve, say, 30 years for every person you eat, so a monster from beyond the stars that eats 20 people gets let out after 600 years, provided it behaves itself in prison?

Now, you could argue that for mass murder, you never get let out no matter how long you live (or that monsters from beyond the stars are dealt with under different rules), I guess, but I'm not sure about that.

(Also, how do you rehabilitate a monster from beyond the stars that's been in prison for 600 years?)

It's not that simple.
We eat animals everyday and we don't get imprisoned for it. If, in the culture of that demon, we're the same to them as cows are to us, he has committed no crime, at least not according to him.
Maybe his father runs a shop where they sell human meat and the demon has been raised on it?
Maybe the people insulted the demon and where he lives, eating those people is a common reaction?
Maybe those people were trying to kill the demon and he killed them in self defense... but after that he was hungry so he ate them as well?

I think that, when sentencing a monster "from beyond the stars", we must obey the intergalactic law, not human law.
Then again, we do punish foreigners based on our law so I don't really know.

 

[Thaluikhain]

You assume that demon will abide by human laws let alone if that demon feel any empathy and remorse. Even then would that demon view us human to be equal in the first place? I mean the demons I think about are just view us human as bugs therefore they feel no remorse for their action toward us.

Is remorse necessary? As long as the thing doesn't actually break any laws for whatever reason, does it matter what it thinks of humans?

Yes especially when you used the said demon eat people in the example. I assume when you said release it once it had done its time as in being release back into the human world or do you mean back to its realm?
Also the fact that the laws was made by human (or are you thinking of other laws created by gods or something higher than human) then what reasons for the demon won't try it again? Or would it had develop a fear toward human or simple doesn't want to get to go back to prison would be enough to prevent the demon doing it again?
Either way I think the demon must feel something toward us human as equal would it to really consider not breaking the law again (especially if it used to eat humans).

Well, does it have to be established that a human criminal feels remorse for them to be let out?

Can you really keep a sentient creature locked up past its sentence for fear of what it might do if released? Yes, presumably you'd have recidivism problems, but you have that with humans as well, and they get released from prisons.

Being afraid of going back to prison might be the best justification, but do you need to prove it is before you let it out, or do you need to prove it isn't before you keep it in?

 

[Scarim Coral]

You assume that demon will abide by human laws let alone if that demon feel any empathy and remorse. Even then would that demon view us human to be equal in the first place? I mean the demons I think about are just view us human as bugs therefore they feel no remorse for their action toward us.

Is remorse necessary? As long as the thing doesn't actually break any laws for whatever reason, does it matter what it thinks of humans?

Yes especially when you used the said demon eat people in the example. I assume when you said release it once it had done its time as in being release back into the human world or do you mean back to its realm?
Also the fact that the laws was made by human (or are you thinking of other laws created by gods or something higher than human) then what reasons for the demon won't try it again? Or would it had develop a fear toward human or simple doesn't want to get to go back to prison would be enough to prevent the demon doing it again?
Either way I think the demon must feel something toward us human as equal would it to really consider not breaking the law again (especially if it used to eat humans).

Well, does it have to be established that a human criminal feels remorse for them to be let out?

Can you really keep a sentient creature locked up past its sentence for fear of what it might do if released? Yes, presumably you'd have recidivism problems, but you have that with humans as well, and they get released from prisons.

Being afraid of going back to prison might be the best justification, but do you need to prove it is before you let it out, or do you need to prove it isn't before you keep it in?

Well you would think a human crimial at some point in his/ her prison life would reflect his or her action (which could be remorse) pior for him/ her to be release? Unless that criminal is insame or psychotic.

Also I wouldn't know about sentient creature since there is no real example of a sentient creature comminted crime that are within breaking human laws for it to be lock up by human standards. (Maybe aliens that are locked up in Area 51?)

As for the last question, I wouldn't know as it depend on the demon itself and its behivour.

 

[Don Savik]

Exterminatus

/thread

If some intersteller race goes around eating people, I can guarentee without a shadow of a doubt that Earth would send them to extinction. Personally I wouldn't criticize them for it either. Gotta protect our species first, as selfish as it seems.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Exterminatus

/thread

If some intersteller race goes around eating people, I can guarentee without a shadow of a doubt that Earth would send them to extinction. Personally I wouldn't criticize them for it either. Gotta protect our species first, as selfish as it seems.

So, we should wipe out humanity become some humans eat humans? Not sure if that's an idea that's going to catch on.

 

[Iron Criterion]

Now, it seems a common thing in fiction for immortal creatures who have done something really nasty to be locked up forever, but is that really fair?

Would it make more sense that you serve, say, 30 years for every person you eat, so a monster from beyond the stars that eats 20 people gets let out after 600 years, provided it behaves itself in prison?

Now, you could argue that for mass murder, you never get let out no matter how long you live (or that monsters from beyond the stars are dealt with under different rules), I guess, but I'm not sure about that.

(Also, how do you rehabilitate a monster from beyond the stars that's been in prison for 600 years?)

ETA: Not necessarily demons of any particular religion or aliens, they were just the first examples I thought of.

No because good/evil and laws are a human concept, which shouldn't factor into what would probably be complex and ambiguous machinations of demons or Gods.

 

[Austin Luo]

Lock them up for as long as they're a danger to the outside world.

 

[Ledan]

How about 30 or so so year as "life imprisonment", then they are evaluated. Based on their current state they are either imprisoned for another x years, or given a very strict parole. And are always on file.