Philosophical question about crime and punishment.

[HanSolo]

I think you'd see terms lengthened. A 20yr term becomes 100. Could one mentally survive that length of imprisonment?

Alternatively, banishment makes more sense. Remove someone from society entirely... Find a new Australia.

Depends on the person really. At least with how they would cope. Some would go violently crazy, others would probably just silently lose their minds..

 

[Bubba Thudd]

and some would go cuckoo for pokey cuffs.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

I would've thought the point of prison was also to reform a criminal, not just have take time away from their life?

If that's the case, it's not working very well. In the US, 75% of criminals released from prison end up back in prison.

 

[Hippasus]

Depends on the person really. At least with how they would cope. Some would go violently crazy, others would probably just silently lose their minds..

Solitary confinement maybe. For prison I think the immortal inmate would just get used to the routine of being there.

 

[HanSolo]

If that's the case, it's not working very well. In the US, 75% of criminals released from prison end up back in prison.

Because almost all of them are released back to the environments that turned them to crime in the first place. It costs a lot more than you'd think to keep an inmate in prison. Its untenable to also provide them with a better financial situation than the kind they were living in previously. Others just fake like they've been reformed and go on and commit the same crimes all over again.

 

[HanSolo]

Solitary confinement maybe. For prison I think the immortal inmate would just get used to the routine of being there.

Depends on the prison. Supermax could drive you burs for sure.

 

[tony d]

I think something like murder, you take away someone's life you should spend the rest of your life behind bars.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

I think something like murder, you take away someone's life you should spend the rest of your life behind bars.

Yeah, and you should be moved around often enough that you don't get in a comfortable situation. You shouldn't get to where you "run the joint", get favors, lead a group, etc. Prison should be unpleasant for ALL inmates.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Wow! The education system has really failed us. This makes no sense. If you're immortal, violence will not kill you.

 

[Flukeshot]

If humans were immortal in the sense that we could not age, but we are still mortal to outside factors, like murder, car accidents, etc. what would be a reasonable punishment for someone who commits murder? I mean they will technically live forever in prison, and it would seem cruel and unusual to leave a person in prison theoretically forever as well.

Wow! The education system has really failed us. This makes no sense. If you're immortal, violence will not kill you.

Voila

 

[Kurtz]

The idea could be reframed for easier consumption: Humans are still mortal, but completely stop aging at, say, 30.


I think an aggressive death penalty would have to replace a life sentence. Else there would not be enough space in prisons to keep all of the generations of life sentence servers, and the burden on society would grow too heavy.