As a victim of two violent crimes during the last 15 years, and the target of a vindictive civil tort by a person that had been declared insane in both legal and clinical terms, to me the sense of 'morality' as rationale does not seem reasonable.
There are many people that make, and continue to make, a series of poor choices. Some of these choices, while seemingly innocent and benign, can affect other people and make their lives not worth living (as mine has become). Lack of of an malevolent intent may not always be an indicator for punishment of criminal acts. Negative societal effects, victims' personal tragedies, and other stuff must be considered for determination of punishment.
That said, there are some that have been swept up by the legal system that may not have received an appropriate punishment in moral terms. But I have no solution to this mess that lies at the intersection of legal, societal, moral, and ethical domains.
Sorry, but anecdotal experiences does not justify "tough on crime" brutal, disproportionate retribution when there are greater systematic forces at work that merely looking at individual cases and greater-good issues like reform as in most other civilized countries. For minor crimes, eventually that convicted criminal will have served their time and be someone's neighbor. To selfishly discard people and throw away the key is not a criminal justice system, but a punitive hell that will not rehabilitate anyone.
For one, mens rea is essential because there is a difference between sociopathic and unintentional harm. Without nuance, there is no need for a judge or DA. Mandatory minimums are complete BS.
Well, this is no surprise. Nixon's and Reagan's explicit agendas were to criminalize the poor and minorities into oblivion. The neoliberals, Clintons and Biden, even adopted this Republican platform stance in order to be "tough on crime."
As a consequent, America has the highest incarceration rate per capita on Earth. 1 in 3 adults having a criminal record. For-profit prisons. And millions of lives destroyed because for bigotry.
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[ 0.90 ms ] story [ 33.1 ms ] threadThere are many people that make, and continue to make, a series of poor choices. Some of these choices, while seemingly innocent and benign, can affect other people and make their lives not worth living (as mine has become). Lack of of an malevolent intent may not always be an indicator for punishment of criminal acts. Negative societal effects, victims' personal tragedies, and other stuff must be considered for determination of punishment.
That said, there are some that have been swept up by the legal system that may not have received an appropriate punishment in moral terms. But I have no solution to this mess that lies at the intersection of legal, societal, moral, and ethical domains.
For one, mens rea is essential because there is a difference between sociopathic and unintentional harm. Without nuance, there is no need for a judge or DA. Mandatory minimums are complete BS.
As a consequent, America has the highest incarceration rate per capita on Earth. 1 in 3 adults having a criminal record. For-profit prisons. And millions of lives destroyed because for bigotry.