While people have been discussing 'prisoner rehabilitation' and Rachaelle Namana over the last day or so, I've kept hearing the phrase "repaying their debt to society." Prisoners, people keep saying, need to to "repay their debt to society." What on earth are they talking about? What "debt to society" are they talking about?
Let me tell you, there is no "debt to society." None. 'Society' isn't the victim of crime -- people are. Individuals who have been the victims of crime are those to whom a debt needs to be repaid, not society. But that debt never is repaid, is it, especially not as that flawed idea of a 'debt to society' dominates.
There is no such thing as a 'debt to society' that prisoners must repay, there is only the debt to those they offended against -- the long forgotten victims of crime. Repaying the victims (where possible) should be amongst the first things considered in sentencing -- as a basic principle it should be ensured that no offender achieves any value by virtue of their crime, and (where possible) no victim loses it.
And when there is no real victim, then there is of course no real crime.
TAGS: Law, Victimless Crimes
3 comments:
we had to pay taxes to lock the fuckers up. they owe us. But I completely agree we should stand in line a long way behind the victims.
And "they" also, disgustingly, use this term against innocent people, usually business men and the productive members of "society." They say we need to "give back to the community."
But what did "we" take from it?
Well ya'all know the answer to that one.
(Nothing)
Not to mention the fact that there are a million victimless crimes being "paid" for by citizens who did nothing to hurt another individual. Take this for example: George Young (The man whose real life tale was told in the movie "Blow".) was sent to prison for 80 years for cocaine offenses. Rapists usually get 5-12 years. Does this not make sense to anyone else? Prostitutes make up about 70% of an urban jail's population. What the fuck did they do to society? They used their bodies to make money. And yet, a man or woman can be found guilty of child molestation and get a slap on the wrist. Ridiculous.
-Candace (candie_babe_2002@yahoo.com)
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