Tuesday 30th of May, 2023
Topics
Civilian Law + Crime and Punishment
”There are 7 parts to this: JUSTICE ITSELF, THE STATE, THE PERPETRATOR, THE VICTIM, SOCIETY, PUNISHMENT, and REPARATION.
A complete review of the Law and Legal practices require urgent attention and reform.
Currently, Civilian Laws are not necessarily related to Justice, and are there primarily to protect the interests of the State, Property ownership and the Upper Crust, as one can clearly see by comparing sentences for a variety of crimes… And as for any form of compensation for victims of crime, it is often ignored, or simply left to the Taxpayer…
At present, when it comes to custodial sentences (in the Western World), the costs of keeping someone in prison exceeds US$ 3,000 per week, often providing comparable conditions to those of holiday camps… The whole thing is nothing short of ridiculous!
Of course, I agree that Society should be protected from certain individuals, while Just sentences should always take into consideration mitigating circumstances. But equally, I feel that reoffenders should serve their time in full, and not halved, so as to save the State some money.
Time in jail however should not be great for sexual depravation, a paradise for out of work drug addicts, nor an option for those unable to cope with Life Outside! Instead, the time spent inside should offer the offender a second chance in life, via the learning of new skills and the opportunity to work for the State while serving their sentence, in the case of those with longer jail terms. The money earned from such work however, to be split into 3 equal parts; the 1 st , to help alleviate the costs of keeping the offender in prison, the 2 nd , towards compensating the victim/s of their alleged crime/s, and the 3 rd , to be accumulated in a pot, to help them start a new life once their time inside will come to an end.
Unless the perpetrator represents a danger to society at large, prison time should not be applicable. Instead, when full payment for financial reparations or Fines cannot be taken, it should be extracted from their income (in negotiable chunks), given that the State can provide work for all who need it or want it, (and a temporary reduction from the benefits of those who cannot work for health reasons/conditions). Legal aid should be available to all.
As for the victims of crime, regardless of any reparation due by the perpetrator/s, the State is to protect those affected according to the manner of their loss, as applicable.
