What is your take on the justice system in your country?

[Zack Alklazaris]

What is your take on the justice system in your country?

Mainly I speak of Rehabilitation vs Retribution. For example my country, the United States, relies on retribution, as in criminals are punished based on the severity of their crimes. While other countries such as Norway uses rehabilitation, as in helping criminals learn to become good working members of society.

Do you prefer one over the other? Do you think one is better than the other?

It seems like in America we concentrate so much on our own form of justice. As in we take what you took for us. One would believe this would be a good deterrent to stop people from committing crimes, yet America has some of the highest prison rates in the world. This is partially due because of America?s high recidivism rate. Roughly two-thirds of offenders that are released from prison end up returning to prison.

Norway on the other hand rehabilitates, has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and only one-forth return to prison. They also have no death penalty.

One would think with such a lack of punishment criminals would be less deterred and therefore much more sever crimes would be committed. Indeed we should all remember Anders Behring Breivik. There was an outrage on his sentence of only 21 years. This kind of justice would never happen in America.

But then again over all numbers don?t lie.

What are your thoughts? Feel free to share or add any. I am curious to see what the Escapist community thinks of criminal punishment.

I show my work:

Norway vs America Crime Statistics
http://pcr-consultants.com/2011/07/norway-v-american-criminal-justice-statistics/

Ander?s Sentencing
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/26/norway-shooter-breivik-gets-off-easy-maximum-sentence-is-21-years.html

 

[Ldude893]

I live in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China.
The former? Pretty good. The latter? Pretty obvious, don't you think?

 

[MrTub]

I prefer the second alternative and I believe we have more focus on rehab then on punishing people in Sweden as well

 

[Thaluikhain]

I think my country is fairly reasonable, generally.

There was a survey done of jurists (in Tasmania, I believe), and it found that they tended to think judges were far too soft on criminals in general, but that the cases they were actually involved in, the ones where they sat through the trial and saw all the evidence, they tended to agree with the judge.

On the other hand, the Australian justice system (and more or less everything else) tends to fuck over Aborigines very badly, leading to repeated cycles of several years of apathy broken up by brief spasms of shock at how bad things are that supposedly nobody knew about.

 

[R3VOLU7ION]

Well, since I moved to this country recently, and I haven't been playing much attention to... well... newsey things, I'll comment on the justice system from my home country: New Zealand. I gotta admit, it's pretty shit. Apparently it can have to wait up to 6 years to hold a trial for someone. So yeah. Awesome.

 

[Blue Hero]

Less rehab, more retribution. Do something wrong? 12 years prison. No trial. Prison now.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Less rehab, more retribution. Do something wrong? 12 years prison. No trial. Prison now.

12 years for everything, no matter what the crime or circumstance, and no trial to actually determine if they committed a crime?

Yeah, might have some problems there.

 

[CODE-D]

Depends on the crime(s).

vehicular/speeding etc
theft
drugs
sexual/abuse
kill in defense-slap on the wrist/couseling/therapy and in the case of theft full reimbursement of amount and maybe extra.

illegal drugs to others
rape
kill someone(accident/passion)
-tried by jury/jail

Kill lots of people intently
or doing something sick/unforgivable to another individual
-the needle

 

[Thaluikhain]

Depends on the crime(s).

vehicular/speeding etc
theft
drugs
sexual/abuse
kill in defense-slap on the wrist/couseling/therapy and in the case of theft full reimbursement of amount and maybe extra.

illegal drugs to others
rape
kill someone(accident/passion)
-tried by jury/jail

Kill lots of people intently
or doing something sick/unforgivable to another individual
-the needle

So, sexual abuse is a slap on the wrist sorta thing? Also, I'd say rape would fall into the "doing something sick/unforgivable to another individual" category.

And, you've also done away with trials for serious crimes. How do you determine if the person is guilty without a trial?

 

[omega 616]

Being from the UK I think our justice system kinda sucks balls.

I have no proof or done any research but I feel you are punished more for fraud than murder, like life in prison means 5 years with good behavior or something stupid.

I think it would be much improved if we took out PS1s and internet, built prisons vertically like a block of flats (Americans say "the projects", I think) and give more serious jail times.

Like a murderer should get life, "did he murder at 16?" "Yes." "Then he dies in prison". Unless he murdered his dad who beat and abused him for 16 years, in which case put him in min security and give him counseling or something.

I don't know how race orientated UK prisons are but in America it seems putting black and whites in the same wing is just stupid. Like I see prisons in the middle of the dessert, surrounded by nothing but sand and they have blacks living with whites ... building a wing on the opposite side of the prison and stick one race in it, separate them! Less chance for gangs to kick each others ass!

I know there will be lack of funds 'cos it's always the case but money can always be found.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

Retribution in my opinion.

Some crimes are to heinous to think that they should be rehabbed.

That guy who killed 80+ kids during that shooting spree in a Youth camp in Norway? Does he really need rehab to be released into the world? I also heard somewhere that he apparently can only get up to twenty years for what he did.

Our world isn't a nice place. You can't show compassion in the face of evil. Especially seeing how criminals take advantage of the justice system in America enough as it is.

 

[ace_of_something]

Actually working in the justice system and being a professor of it... It's got a lot of problems but there's a reason most 1st world countries have based a lot of their system off of ours.

Rehabilitation is meant for low level early offenders (drug users/vice crimes/ petty theft)

Habitual criminal laws need to be implemented more often and with care. The infamous three strikes law of California is a really BAD example. Ya know, the 'guy steals a cookie gets 10 years' thing.
Other states that have complicated, case by case, well thought out, guidelines tend to work better.

If I could change one thing it'd be driving while intoxicated charges. They need to be much much harsher. I've seen too many accidents caused by someone who is on their 3rd DUI.

 

[isometry]

The US justice system is an organized group of armed thugs that derive their authority from violence, instead of logic and morality.

It's not too bad if you have the right race and economic background, then the thugs mostly leave you alone.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

I think a system with a stronger focus on rehabilitation would be nice for America, but it seems the public desires the opposite. We also need to treat white collar crime more harshly. Otherwise, I love our justice system. Except for our punishments and prisons, it is ideal in my opinion. Everything that comes before your punishment is handed out is basically perfect and I hate how this thread so far has ignored those parts.

 

[enzilewulf]

America here

I hate ours on a few simple cases I see.

Troy Davis

And Casey Anthony.

Troy Davis had been sentenced to death for killing a cop in Georgia, yet successful appeals of his case have spared him. Unforgettably last year he was killed. Yet the whole case was thrown into question, evidence had not been presented, and witness reenactment wasn't done correctly and confused witnesses according to AC360(CNN). The amount of questions that were thrown into this case still wasn't enough for even the supreme court. And he was executed. So many questions with the case. There was a lot of problems, yet because of a jury ruling ten years ago he was killed. The amount of evidence that was presented and uncovered was more than enough to prove there is a very big possibility that the man is innocent.

Casey Anthony, well we all know how that went over.

How is it that some one with such a questionable case is killed, yet some one with overwhelming evidence is let off the hook for the murder of a innocent child.

That day Troy Davis was killed I lost all faith in the American Justice system.

 

[chuckman1]

Americas justice system is horrible.
Im mostly for rehab but my country wants retribution 100% which breeds more crime.

 

[Darth_Dude]

Slow. That's pretty much it, although in my home country Pakistan there's pretty much one word to describe the justice system. CORRUPT.

I know I'm going to be called out on this, but with regards to the sentencing of Murderers, rapists and pedophiles, I say just shoot em. Those bastards are just going to use up millions of the state's money, just shoot them. I'd say it would be a good deterrent as well. And you wouldn't have to worry about re offenders