What does a parent say?

[Avatar]

Not a chance I'm afraid. Nobody plans on getting caught.

(Anyway, you'd be arrested for grievious bodily harm, or murder.)

--A

[drew]

Geeze it doesn't take you guys long to go back into the punishment argument!

[sgt.null]

disembowling pedophiles might work.

[Elfgirl]

Geeze it doesn't take you guys long to go back into the punishment argument!

And protecting kids isn't a worthwhile reason to make the punishment harsh? Puh-leeez drew...

I may sound 'old skool' but having studies psych in the 'bad old days', negative reinforcement was actually quite a good way of bringing idiots into line. The namby-pamby wrist slappers are (IMHO) the reason crime has escalated. Their "humanitarian" bullspocky has taken away the fear of punishment, so the little weasels get out of paying for their crimes. Jail is a frakking comfort zone!! In Australia, the SOBs get colour TV, meals, accommodation all at taxpayer's expense. And the homeless get a kick in the arse. Is that justice?

I still think jail should be a filthy dungeon, with rats, gruel and a bucket to sh!t in. Giving the f*ckers all the comforts of home lessens the dread of a jail term. Sure, Big Bubba might make you his b!tch, but what if you like that sort of thing? You're set for life (so to speak). DUNGEONS!! WE WANT DUNGEONS!!!!

[Avatar]

Geeze it doesn't take you guys long to go back into the punishment argument!

And protecting kids isn't a worthwhile reason to make the punishment harsh? Puh-leeez drew...

Punishing somebody who has already done something doesn't protect anybody. At best, it stops him from doing it again. At worst, it makes him twice as careful next time.

I'mm not saying don't punish them. But I am saying that actual protection requires more than just harsh punishment.

Now lets stop derailing drews topic.

--A

[Gil galad]

Well said Av.

Harshly punishing someone who has already been locked away does little but to gratify those who would seek revenge. While it can be argued strongly that harsh prison sentences and conditions serve as a deterent, in reality this only serves as a deterent to rational people who understand that thier actions have consequenses.

Abusers are not commonly sensible rational people who are easilty deterred from thier ways. Cruel punishment is about seeking revenge and is above and beyond the need for justice and consequence. However i'm not saying that these crimes should go unpunished, simply that locking them up for good, and spending the time and effort to proactivly support healthy communities where people with these tendancies can be identified, monitored and permanently stopped, is better than torturing them.

[Avatar]

Same back to you Gil-Galad.

--A

[Elfgirl]

Sorry. I like the idea of torture (I think it's flashbacks from my past life as a Spanish Inquisitor)...

All I know is, any arsehole DARES to touch my nephew or niece, they will wish they'd never been born (screw the cops...they'll have da Elfbitch to deal with!)

[sgt.null]

while not going as far as elfgirl would like, we do need to make prison about punishment again. right now the focus is on making the poor criminal the center of victimology. we give them school, aa, na, church, social time, etc, etc. while bettering inmates sounds nice, a 60% recividism rate shows that maybe, just maybe coddling them isn't the way to go.

[[Syl]]

Syl doesn't split topics twice. Syl deletes.

[Avatar]

I tried to stop them... C'mon guys, take it to the 'Tank thread.

--A

[Menolly]

:::nodding:::

There's a whole thread in the 'Tank specifically to discuss punishment of said perpetrators.

[sgt.null]

sorry, didn't realize we were in the Close. I don't always read the topic header. I use the last post button.