No you're not Spad....you are not alone

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"There were no D-Day Heroes in 1973" - Cold Chisel Khe Sanh

I didn't say that. That would be very presumptuous. I was keeping my comments close to the link between a vicious criminal justice system and the state of society. England in the 18th Century was ruled by an elite and had a cruel criminal justice system to make sure the non-elites were under control. I am arguing there is a parallel with the US now. The elites are running the country for themselves and they are overseeing a vicious criminal justice system to keep the non-elites under control. If elites run a society and keep the ordinary folk under foot, that's a failed society.

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"There were no D-Day Heroes in 1973" - Cold Chisel Khe Sanh

It seems the most common thing around here is to spout off with no practical background and base opinions on what is on TV, like "Lockdown", etc. Some of the policies put forth on this thread would have raised howls of derision were they even tried at Gitmo.

Regardless of what anyone wants, most offenders will be out on the streets again, and how they were treated in prison sways how they act when they get out. It's a lot more complex unless you want to lock them up forever and throw away the key. Otherwise you have to consider the future consequences of your actions, a novel thought on this board.

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So in your opinion our current system is too harsh?
If so, in what ways do you think it should be changed.

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Anyone who thinks freedom comes cheap, please put the blindfold on and stand against the wall.

IT IS TIME for Americans to take back the country and start a new government.

The first step would be to stop jailing people for victimless crimes, such as drug use or drug sales. That way, the chance that a non-violent person gets raped and turned into a violent criminal is reduced, since you remove the people from prison who don't even belong there. Give prisoners some options as to which prison to go to, as well as options to choose to spend time in solitary confinement. I think there already are measures, such as "Supermax" prisons, that are designed for people who commit violent crimes while in prison. The costs of this will be greatly reduced once you stop imprisoning people for bullshit charges like drugs. Remember, a population can only afford to keep a certain percentage of its population behind bars.

I think the latter two possibly stand to be extremely unjust. For instance, let's say you have a petty thief, and the primary goal is punishment. So, let's say he gets a few weeks in prison, because the "punishment fits the crime." Let's say the latter two are the primary goals, and it is determined that this man cannot be rehabilitated. Thus, he is jailed for life. Let's say you have a murderer, but he got so frightened of prison life, that he had a nervous breakdown and turned out that he was much less likely to commit a crime than the average person out on the street. If punishment is the goal, he gets life in prison. If rehab/removal/protection is the goal, he gets released after a few months.

The $64,000 question. Too harsh? No. Too many people that shouldn't be there? Yes.

We have inmates ranging from Ad Seg to Min R. The Ad Segs will stick you just to see you die. The Min Rs will actually cry if you take them to Seg. Why are they here? God, how many blades of grass? The biggest problem is that none of them are here on their first rodeo. I think that a lot of the problem is that they are threatened time and again with prison (as versus jail) until it rings hollow, and then after an indescriminate number of offenses, they are finally imprisoned. Prison is just time-out for big boys. Once you take the victim pool away, they are just like normal people, with a sense of humor, honor, pride and justice.

I will have to collect my thoughts on this, as it is just too complex for a simple answer on a political forum.

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Unfortunately, drug use supports drug dealers, who are the scourge of society.

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You have to understand the difference between prison and jail. Jail is local and short-term. Prison is statewide and long-term. You're showing that you really don't know what the corrections "industry" entails.

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I'm not sure that that is a distinction most people are aware of. I would say most people, myself included, use them interchangeably.

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"Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze."
Gospel of Thomas

Jail is for misdemeanors, prison is for felonies. Nobody goes to prison for anything less than a felony, and usually it's far from their first.

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Do you oppose alcohol sellers the same way?

I realize there is a difference, but I use them interchangeably because in the posts that I made, I made no specific reference to where I want them to go, but for how long.

Prisons sentences should be harsher. Prisons should be far more clinical, controlled, and severe. Then we should stop sending people to prison for nonsense (Drug possesion for instance) and only send them to jail if it is necessary. The result is fewer people in prisons, and prison serving as a stronger detterent. Also I am all for more life sentencing. If we think there is a strong possibility for a person to repeat their crimes why in the world would we ever release them back into society?

Rousseau spoke quite eloquently to this matter:

"Rigorous punishments are a futile expedient born of small minds, in the aim of substituting terror for the respect they are incapable of earning."

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Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having all this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush?

--Hunter S. Thompson