Subject:
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Re: One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 4 Jul 2002 12:30:44 GMT
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Viewed:
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8015 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Christopher L. Weeks writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, John Neal writes:
> > In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Christopher L. Weeks writes:
> > > In lugnet.off-topic.debate, John Neal writes:
> No, I don't. What is it?
I'd have to remember where I saw it, but something like 70% of all violent
crimes are committed by repeat offenders.
And what counts as a crime when compiling those
> numbers? And why is it that you think crimes that take place in prison are
> less important?
I don't think I ever asserted that.
>
> I think the overall effect on the economy of fixing those who can be fixed
> would be a wild net gain. If we stopped the prohibition on heroine, the price
> would drop to a point where virtually any addict could afford their fix without
> resorting to crime. And even if it took _all_ of the money we spend
> incarcerating them and had to dump it into methodone clinics and halfway houses
> and such -- so that we were at an economic standstill (at first) the social
> gain would be tremendous.
>
> But I don't think that we would spend all that on them. I think we'd spend
> lots and lots less and everyone would be happier. I mean everyone. We all
> stand to win by legalizing heroine.
>
> Way up there, you ask "why should I be forced to pay for this?" I agree!
> Taxation is still thievery. But why should you be forced to pay for prisons?
*They* are a necessary evil to protect society.
> And if it has to be paid, one way or another, then why not pay less and get
> more?
>
> It seems almost like you[1] just want those people to hurt.
Not me or society, it's they themselves who are to blame.
> 1 - "You," in this case, means the folks who cling to punishment as an
> effective means of handling social woes against all evidence, for no reason
> that I can yet fathom -- not you, John, specifically. (I don't know if you fit
> that bill.)
Incarceration is simply the most effective way to protect society from
criminals. Perhaps if we were hard enough on crime, criminals would think
twice about their illegal activities.
-John
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