The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law
Chapter 5: The Three “R”s
Page 3: Removal
NARRATOR
Once again, however, we have the problem of specific sentences for a given crime.
Average Joe as a butterfly
If rehabilitation is the purpose, then the sentence should be as long as it takes for the offender to transform into a law-abiding citizen.
Joe pondering scales of justice, weighing jail against cash
If deterrence is the purpose, then the length of the sentence is hardly relevant, compared to the mere threat of SOME penalty.
Joe being released from jail, guard waving him farewell
Likewise, if REMOVAL is the purpose, then why release a known danger back into society, just because he’s served his time?
Not sure quite where to put this, but there does seem to be a deterrent or causal effect in drug prison sentencing vs murder/assault sentencing. As the punishments for the former increased in comparison to the latter, drug dealers became more violent and likely to murder, as threatening/beating up/killing the witness became a more intelligent course of action than just taking the punishment for drug dealing.
Arguably a lot of the problems in the inner cities are caused by punishing drug possession as a worse crime than murder.
Yes, I said worse, in Alaska they had to let murderers out after 3 years to make room for the mandatory 10-20 year sentences for pot possession.
Something seriously wrong with the bottom of that picture. Did the guard give him an axe (presumably the one used in his crime) back when the prisoner was released?
Apparently so.
Simple answer – because the goal is not the elimination of crime, but the reduction of crime in proportion to the degree to which it is damaging to society. Shorter sentences mean more “churn”, so at any given moment a smaller percentage of offenders are removed; longer sentences mean that a higher percentage of offenders are removed. This allows the State to truly balance individual freedom with societal benefits. We *knowingly* allow there to be “acceptable” levels of certain crimes as a way to protect freedoms.