: So you believe that someone who keeps committing crimes should be allowed to live free in society where they commit more crimes?Yeah, like, lets lock someone up for life for stealing Piza (has happened).
: When someone commits a crime and gets jail time (first strike) that is warning them not to do it anymore, or else.
However, they are jailed for specific and distinct oiffences, and tehre is also teh fundamental principle of justice of only being punished once for the same crime, effectively three strikes pyunishes them again for previous crimes, crimes which they have been official absolved of by serving their time.
: Personaly, I (and most Americans) believe all 50 states should have three strikes laws, not just Cali. I don't want any scumbag drug addict child abusing welfare abusing thieving alcoholic living in my neighborhood.
Perhaps the best way to avoid that is to actually change social conditions so that people do not fall into such a life style- after all, they'll just end up as a 'scumbag' in prison.
:The three strikes law is a good way of telling those people either you clean up your act or you spend the rest of your life in jail, you choose.
Generally, even without the three strike rule, thats what happens (many people spnd life in jail on a sereis of convistions (often petty), but at least they alsways have a chance.
: By the way, how would you feel if someone you love was killed by somebody who had a criminal record a mile long (somebody who should have been in jail)?
I would feel deaply hurt, but I would understand that they have served their time for each of those convistions, and were thus free to walk the streets again, further, I would unserstand that its in the interests of me and my loved ones for the fundamental pruinciples of justice to be upheld. No one is inately criminal.
:Would you still feel that locking up that person and throwing away the key is too harsh?
Yes, I would. Given the option I would plea before the court for clemency agains state-murder- if that existed where I live.
:I don't know about the UK but in the US it is far too common.
Then you eradicate it at source, rather than adding to the victims, by victimising those abandonned by society.
: It's all too common. People who shouldn't be even allowed to be in society are, and they are committing more crimes. They don't even deserve freedom. (And by the way I'm not talking about petty crimes and misdemeanors either like littering, shoplifting etc...)
Well, people get locked up for life for that (don't think shop lifting is a misdemenour, somehow...).
We could live in a society without prisons, without their inherent brutality and degredation, to do that, we need to abolish poverty, and actively strive to include everyone into society. Yiou can't just wish 2 million people away, you can't ignore the gross racial discrimination inherent in the prison system...
None.
