I skipped incarceration because you’d already expressed it as preferable to capital punishment.
It’s only inhumane if they’re no longer a danger to society.
I cannot agree there. Unless you’re arguing that “everything is legitimate” in the case of dangerous individuals, I imagine you don’t really believe that either.
Rehabilitation is always the goal, but in instances where it is unachievable and the perpetrator is reasonably expected to remain unrepentant, is keeping them alive and imprisoned for life at the expense of law-abiding citizens the way forward? Would they not grow resentful of having to support those who do not follow the social contract?
is keeping them alive and imprisoned for life at the expense of law-abiding citizens the way forward?
Yes, for two reasons:
it’s immoral to kill people, because there’s always a chance at rehabilitation; IMO, if we give up on that, we give up on humanity
it’s generally more expensive to execute someone than keep them locked up indefinitely, so it’s not even a pragmatic option
Even if the second were not the case, I would still say yes due to the first.
I think the goals should be essentially this:
complete rehabilitation - not always possible, but it should always be assumed to be
return to society with the harm being neutralized - any alterations must 100% be the choice of the individual (e.g. a serial rapist could elect to be castrated, a kleptomaniac or stalker could elect for permanent tracking via microchip, etc)
return to productive interaction with society, while still physically restrained - e.g. they can work within prison
voluntary doctor-assisted suicide - an individual should always have the option of ending their life, provided they’re of sound-enough mind
I’m against 2 & 4 until we have certain checks in place to prevent abuse, and 3 would absolutely need to be opt-in by the prisoner.
Would they not grow resentful of having to support those who do not follow the social contract?
As long as murder is unacceptable in society, it’s the price you pay for the privilege of stripping someone else’s rights from them.
IMO, the only valid use of lethal force is if there’s no valid alternative option to protect innocent lives. I would kill if it directly spared innocent lives, but not if there’s any possibility of protecting innocent lives another way.
return to society with the harm being neutralized - any alterations must 100% be the choice of the individual (e.g. a serial rapist could elect to be castrated, a kleptomaniac or stalker could elect for permanent tracking via microchip, etc)
We kinda do this already with ankle monitors, not that I think subdermal tracking would be any less fallible.
As long as murder is unacceptable in society, it’s the price you pay for the privilege of stripping someone else’s rights from them.
Therein’s the rub, see. That’s the price to be paid for one person. If the murder of one enriches the many, maybe it was worth it. And since not everyone values lives equally, not everyone can have a unanimous take.
IMO, the only valid use of lethal force is if there’s no valid alternative option to protect innocent lives. I would kill if it directly spared innocent lives, but not if there’s any possibility of protecting innocent lives another way.
I laud you for having and knowing your heirarchy of values, I am still (and quite possibly forever will be) determining my own red lines.
Least amount of force is ideally jail. No funky science experiments, just keep them in a secure facility.
It’s only inhumane if they’re no longer a danger to society.
Justice should never be about punishment, but preventing further harm and making as much restitution as possible.
I skipped incarceration because you’d already expressed it as preferable to capital punishment.
I cannot agree there. Unless you’re arguing that “everything is legitimate” in the case of dangerous individuals, I imagine you don’t really believe that either.
Rehabilitation is always the goal, but in instances where it is unachievable and the perpetrator is reasonably expected to remain unrepentant, is keeping them alive and imprisoned for life at the expense of law-abiding citizens the way forward? Would they not grow resentful of having to support those who do not follow the social contract?
Yes, for two reasons:
Even if the second were not the case, I would still say yes due to the first.
I think the goals should be essentially this:
I’m against 2 & 4 until we have certain checks in place to prevent abuse, and 3 would absolutely need to be opt-in by the prisoner.
As long as murder is unacceptable in society, it’s the price you pay for the privilege of stripping someone else’s rights from them.
IMO, the only valid use of lethal force is if there’s no valid alternative option to protect innocent lives. I would kill if it directly spared innocent lives, but not if there’s any possibility of protecting innocent lives another way.
We kinda do this already with ankle monitors, not that I think subdermal tracking would be any less fallible.
Therein’s the rub, see. That’s the price to be paid for one person. If the murder of one enriches the many, maybe it was worth it. And since not everyone values lives equally, not everyone can have a unanimous take.
I laud you for having and knowing your heirarchy of values, I am still (and quite possibly forever will be) determining my own red lines.