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arichnad t1_je1h40z wrote

Reply to comment by sushi69 in Felon who killed DC cyclist attempts to vacate plea deal. by [deleted]

Before you said you believed he was rehabilitated now you say it doesn't matter if he is or not. While I think both are fine positions, you have changed your argument.

I agree 11 months won't help his chances for rehabilitation, but he's literally a violent felon who will possibly reoffend: those 11 months are important for people (literally) on the street.

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sushi69 t1_je3jsd2 wrote

I didn't say he was rehabilitated, I don't even know him. Sorry for the confusion.

What I meant is that I can believe someone would be rehabilitated after years in jail, and I can believe others wouldn't. But after serving years in prison you've either learned your lesson or you haven't, and 11 more months wouldn't change it as you agreed.

And let's be real, sending people to prison isn't rehabilitative nor does it really protect the public when there is an endless number of crazy people out.

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arichnad t1_je78pam wrote

> isn't rehabilitative nor does it really protect the public

What is the point, then? I don't think it is a deterrent except in rare nonviolent cases, and it shouldn't be a form of revenge. I feel like protecting the public is the real reason jail/prison should exist. Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it.

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sushi69 t1_je7ydbc wrote

Thank you, for having a conversation about it!

I think in the case of those totally depraved (mass murder, child abuse, repeat murder, etc) then sentencing them for life could be a way to protect the public.

I think if people are a physical threat to others then they also should be locked up but I'm not sure about what the right duration is. I don't know that "sentencing guidelines" are really that effective considering how high recidivism is. I think the justice system focuses more on penalizing than on rehabilitation.

These are just my random thoughts, so thanks for listening. I don't have all the answers but I know that the public seems to think that anyone who commits any crime is a waste of a person and can just be locked away forever, and that they are morally corrupt and unfixable or something like that. "They would do something bad, and I would never do such a thing", "they're a bad person and I'm a good one", etc. We all justify the rules we break and things we do that are wrong but judge others for what they do.

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