This Should Piss You Off

[Dill]

(02-24-2017, 12:23 PM)PhilHos Wrote: Out of curiosity, where would we rank globally, if we took out the countries where certain forms of rape and murder are legal? Also, how many other countries believe in corporal-style punishments in lieu of prison sentences (i.e. cutting off hands for thieves, castration for rapists, etc.)? While we're at it, where would we rank, if we didn't imprison all those involved in prostitution and those involved in drug offenses minus distributers? I honestly don't know ANY of the answers to the questions above.

With that said and while I agree that I think, as a country, we may be a little too imprisonment-happy, you could look at those numbers and say we're better at catching criminals than the other countries. In all honesty, I think this issue is more complex than just looking at rankings and thinking that's it.

Oh, and I also agree with michaelsean about private prisons.

I might be able to help you sort this out, if you can name some countries where certain forms of rape and murder are legal.

A Indian magistrate has recently considered castration as punishment for certain sex offenses. Since the US is one of the few countries that castrate sex offenders, Indians are looking to us as a model. http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/castration-as-a-form-of-punishment-used-in-some-countries-but-can-it-reform/

Virtually every first-world country would agree that certain forms of murder are legal in the US, but no one is imprisoned for them. That takes some off the board for the US.

I think you could look at those numbers and say that we are better at running for-profit prisons than other countries.

Plenty of developing countries have law and order parties akin to our Republicans--love the death penalty and happy to jail children for life--but off hand I cannot think of another country in which there is actually a prison lobby.