This Should Piss You Off

[Yojimbo]

My personal belief is only violent criminals, that are a physical danger to society, should be in prison. All non-violent crimes can be punished/rehabilitated through fines, wage garnishment, community service and counseling.

[*michaelsean*]

(02-25-2017, 03:49 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: My personal belief is only violent criminals, that are a physical danger to society, should be in prison. All non-violent crimes can be punished/rehabilitated through fines, wage garnishment, community service and counseling.

To a point.  Do you think Bernie Madoff should be anywhere but in prison?  

[samhain]

(02-27-2017, 11:09 AM)michaelsean Wrote: To a point.  Do you think Bernie Madoff should be anywhere but in prison?  

Yeah, kind of what I was thinking.  Using prison to punish only violent offenders would be a boon for white collar criminals.  I've always felt that those people should be charged more heavily, not less. If you steal or lose someone's life savings by fraud or deception, you don't deserve to be free.

[Yojimbo]

(02-27-2017, 11:15 AM)samhain Wrote: Yeah, kind of what I was thinking.  Using prison to punish only violent offenders would be a boon for white collar criminals.  I've always felt that those people should be charged more heavily, not less. If you steal or lose someone's life savings by fraud or deception, you don't deserve to be free.

Well you wouldn't be if 75% of your wages were being taken as restitution and you had to do 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 hours of community service.

Prison is for separating people from society for society's protection. Madoff could have been put on house arrest and fined to oblivion and never allowed to work in finance again.

[*michaelsean*]

(02-27-2017, 03:38 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: Well you wouldn't be if 75% of your wages were being taken as restitution and you had to do 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 hours of community service.

Prison is for separating people from society for society's protection. Madoff could have been put on house arrest and fined to oblivion and never allowed to work in finance again.

No there are probably plenty of people who are eligible for alternate punishments, but some who need to go to prison.

[Yojimbo]

(02-27-2017, 03:43 PM)michaelsean Wrote: No there are probably plenty of people who are eligible for alternate punishments, but some who need to go to prison.

And how many thousands of dollars did it cost taxpayers to provide room, board, medical, counseling and protection for some old guy that was no threat to society.

[Aquapod770]

Ending the war on drugs would be a great start.



Other than that it would be nice if people stopped breaking the law.

[NATI BENGALS]

(02-27-2017, 03:38 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: Well you wouldn't be if 75% of your wages were being taken as restitution and you had to do 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 hours of community service.

Prison is for separating people from society for society's protection. Madoff could have been put on house arrest and fined to oblivion and never allowed to work in finance again.

Locking a millionaire up in their mansion doesnt cut it. While i agree a focus should be on locking up violent criminals i disagree about going soft on white collar criminals. 

A professional scammer is still a threat to society on house arrest. 

[*michaelsean*]

(02-28-2017, 10:01 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Locking a millionaire up in their mansion doesnt cut it. While i agree a focus should be on locking up violent criminals i disagree about going soft on white collar criminals. 

A professional scammer is still a threat to society on house arrest. 

Plus if your biggest risk is losing some of the money you stole, then there's not much deterrent.  

[Yojimbo]

(02-28-2017, 10:01 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Locking a millionaire up in their mansion doesnt cut it. While i agree a focus should be on locking up violent criminals i disagree about going soft on white collar criminals. 

A professional scammer is still a threat to society on house arrest. 

Who said they get to keep their mansions? In Madoff's case the fine would be large enough that he'd be force to sell his large properties or they are seized and auctioned.

[Yojimbo]

(03-01-2017, 10:01 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Plus if your biggest risk is losing some of the money you stole, then there's not much deterrent.  

Exactly the point I'm trying to make. Prison should not be used as a deterrent. Prison should be used to separate violent criminals from society for the protection of the citizens. You take a millionaire criminal and put him in a halfway house or studio apartment and make him work for minimum wage and do 100,000 hours of community service, I think they'll learn their lesson and give a little back to the community they stole from. Throw them in prison and give them free food and medical services for a decade and it only hurts taxpayers.

[*michaelsean*]

(03-01-2017, 11:37 AM)Yojimbo Wrote: Exactly the point I'm trying to make. Prison should not be used as a deterrent. Prison should be used to separate violent criminals from society for the protection of the citizens. You take a millionaire criminal and put him in a halfway house or studio apartment and make him work for minimum wage and do 100,000 hours of community service, I think they'll learn their lesson and give a little back to the community they stole from. Throw them in prison and give them free food and medical services for a decade and it only hurts taxpayers.

Well then we are just on different pages here.  I don't mind reducing the number of prisoners by not imprisoning a fair amount of non-violent offenders such as drug users, but not all.