What is the role of prison?

[johncmcleod]

Is it to punish the criminals because they deserve it? Is it to deter people from committing crimes? Is it to fix the people who have committed crimes and turn them into good people who won't do it again? And that brings up another question. Does rehabilitation work?

By deciding what the role of prison is could definitely be helpful in deciding whether or not the death penalty should be legal, whether or not cruel and/or unusual punishment should be allowed, and in deciding what to do to criminals when they've been convicted.

[DaShi]

A cheap, reliable source for human experimentation?

[mrmitchell]

Is it to punish the criminals because they deserve it? Is it to deter people from committing crimes? Is it to fix the people who have committed crimes and turn them into good people who won't do it again?

D) All of the above

[NeOmega]

I would say punishment.
And that is the way I would like it if I felt all laws were just.

[Nubclear]

Idealistically it's to make sure prisoners (once released) never commit the crime again.
However because of normal human behavior, it's been reduced to simply a means of punishment.

[johncmcleod]

If the reason is punishment then, how does it help? A person murders another person. How does it help that the murdere is punished. How does it make things better?

And if punishment is the reason, shouldn't cruel punishment be allowed? What if they deserve it? Should OBL get it?

And, is it our place to say what people deserve?

[alva]

Basically it depends on the age, or to be more correct in modern terms, it depends on what's this years fashion.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by johncmcleod
If the reason is punishment then, how does it help?

It doesn't.

And if punishment is the reason, shouldn't cruel punishment be allowed?

That would require us admitting to ourselves the real reason for prisons in our society.

What if they deserve it? Should OBL get it?

No.

And, is it our place to say what people deserve?

No.

[NeOmega]

Originally posted by johncmcleod
If the reason is punishment then, how does it help? A person murders another person. How does it help that the murdere is punished. How does it make things better?

And if punishment is the reason, shouldn't cruel punishment be allowed? What if they deserve it? Should OBL get it?

And, is it our place to say what people deserve?

1) biggest reason is to be sure they do not do it again, or retaliate against the victim. I think only a good punishment will break a criminal's will.

2) I am all for cruel punishment. Luckily for the prisoners, the constitution frowns upon it. To me, all punishment is cruel, or it wouldn't be punishment.

3) If not us, who?

[alva]

quote:
And, is it our place to say what people deserve?

No

Indeed, but it is society's place (IE the judge)

[Nubclear]

No it isn't

[alva]

ok, Tass, you give the answer then.
( we are talking about a criminal...)

[DinoDoc]

This is an extremely stupid and assanine thread (and I really mean this) but what the hell I've participated in worse.

Originally posted by johncmcleod
If the reason is punishment then, how does it help?

It sends the message that commiting crimes is wrong and stops people from taking the law into their own hands. Unless of course roving mobs of vigilantes appeals to you on a visceral level.

And, is it our place to say what people deserve?

We went to the trouble of catching them. What fun would there be in simply letting them go after that?

[Ramo]

Ideally, prison should be used to rehabilitate people and put them in a controlled environment so they don't have the chance to hurt others in the mean time.

But in reality, prison is generally little more than a mechanism for state-sponsored revenge.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Ramo
But in reality, prison is generally little more than a mechanism for state-sponsored revenge.

Only if you do it correctly.