Read on Twitter
People act shocked and ask me all the time, "you would just let people at-risk over 65 out of their sentences?"
Yes...maybe there are exceptions, but yes.
In addition, sentence-lengths are largely MADE UP, they are not based on evidence
Yes...maybe there are exceptions, but yes.
In addition, sentence-lengths are largely MADE UP, they are not based on evidence
Side note, this should not surprise people, I have been to prison, I don't believe in prisons as a stand-in for accountability or justice....it mostly makes people worse not better and is an exercise in planned and managed trauma
So what should we do instead? Literally ANYTHING other than what we do....prisons are a human rights disaster that manufacture trauma and make nobody safer
Also, inevitable someone will say "but what about Hannibal Lechter"
Do you know how absurd it is to torture millions of people 365 days a year because you are worried about how serial killers are treated?
IMHO we should not use anecdotes as the basis of governance
Do you know how absurd it is to torture millions of people 365 days a year because you are worried about how serial killers are treated?
IMHO we should not use anecdotes as the basis of governance
Side side note, if someone is literally a sociopath, they are not able to produce empathy....taking pleasure in torturing them is a sign of the exact same sociopathy being objected to....maybe, find a way to keep people safe that isn't a trauma factory
Prisons in the United States are a living, breathing, trauma-inducing and torturing example of the "Sunk-Cost Fallacy" in action....
Well...."we have invested so much in them, and so many people rely on them, and at least the 'bad people' are there not here etc."
Well...."we have invested so much in them, and so many people rely on them, and at least the 'bad people' are there not here etc."
Look, this isn't self-interest, I am not in prison....but, I have been there, and I am telling you, if you think prison is making society safer....or that it helps people return better (and 96% do return), you are living in a delusion.
How about this, instead of regaling me with the importance of the carceral state, how about provide evidence that long sentences serve a productive purpose.....
How about provide some evidence that prisons make society safer....here, I will provide evidence of the opposite
How about provide some evidence that prisons make society safer....here, I will provide evidence of the opposite
And because someone just raised this point....I don't pit incarcerated people against each other to demonstrate one person deserves relief more than someone else. I do support individuals in getting relief, but not by pitting them against other incarcerated people
Also, for those who say, "what about the victims" - totally fair, I am not sure why we think prisons are a stand-in for victim well-being, but most surveys of people who were the victims of crime say they want to ensure the people come back BETTER and don't hurt people again
I would suggest reading the book "Until We Reckon" by @daniellesered to get a much deeper discussion of how prisons and our justice system fail the victims of crime....prison is a poor stand in for healing and accountability
But let us also not forget, that while people seem totally committed to the notion that a sentence is a CONTRACT between the state and a victim of crime...the state will not listen to victims when they ask for less punishment or non-prosecution (and often ignore victims entirely)
