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A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what?

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Re: A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what?

#181

Post by thaumasiotes »

Jtsummers wrote: post #174
thaumasiotes wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two points: - Driving below the speed of surrounding traffic is much more likely to cause an accident than driving at a "high" speed. The speed of traffic is essentially always above the speed limit. (Which might itself give you pause in characterizing it as "reckless, dangerous driving".) - Reckless, dangerous driving is an independent offense, which can be (and is) charged separately from speeding.

1) I've not seen the numbers, but I'll concede that's likely true, particularly on highways. 2) For someone who wants long sentences for other offenses, it seems odd that you don't see that control of speed (particularly on city streets, my view on highway speed limits is different) and ticketing of speeders is also a pretty effective mitigator of reckless driving on those same streets. It doesn't stop it, we'll neve…

"If the cost of keeping him out of [society] exceeds the cost he inflicts by his presence, I'd say we should keep him incarcerated and spend less"

Re: A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what?

#183

Post by fleitz »

beloch wrote: post #149

The U.S. and Canada have very similar cultures, so comparisons here have some meaning. The U.S.'s per capita incarceration rate is 6.28 times Canada's [1] and the per capita number of police officers is 1.26 times higher in the U.S.[2]. However, the intentional homicide rate of the U.S. is 2.94 times that of Canada[3]. Certain types of offenses (e.g. drug offenses) are higher in Canada, but the violent crime rate is…

I worked in the poorest postal code in Canada (http://goo.gl/maps/hzKct here's how bad it gets, this intersection is called Wastings and Pain by many), it's a walk in the park compared to the bad neighbourhoods of many US cities. I've never felt like I was in the 3rd world in Canada, there are parts of the US that make you wonder...

We generally take care of our people and don't use the prison system as part of the social safety net to the degree the US does. Ironically, in Montreal in the winter, you pretty much have to kill someone to get sent to jail if you're homeless.

Also, it's not so much Canada as Stephen Harper.

Re: A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what?

#184

Post by kayoone »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #168
Jtsummers wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't favor speeding tickets at all; as far as I can see, they're just a way for governments to capriciously collect extra revenue from people without giving it the politically unpopular name of "taxes". > Repeated-burglaries guy is obviously opting out of functioning in society. If the cost of keeping him out of it exceeds the cost he inflicts by his presence, I'd say we should keep him incarcerated and spend le…

Two points: - Driving below the speed of surrounding traffic is much more likely to cause an accident than driving at a "high" speed. The speed of traffic is essentially always above the speed limit. (Which might itself give you pause in characterizing it as "reckless, dangerous driving".) - Reckless, dangerous driving is an independent offense, which can be (and is) charged separately from speeding.

Oh come on... Speeding clearly implies more risk, in the case of an impact (in the city for example) the end result can be much worse.

On the other hand a guy who has comitted 2-3 non violent crimes in his life because hes probably broke and has mental issues. I am not saying thats ok, but spending the life in prison for that? He wouldnt even have to go to prison for that in the country i live in.

Re: A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what?

#185

Post by collyw »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #47

My thoughts on the best and the worst: > Anthony Jackson has a sixth-grade education and worked as a cook. He was convicted of burglary for stealing a wallet from a Myrtle Beach hotel room when he was 44 years old. According to prosecutors, he woke two vacationing golfers as he entered the room and stole a wallet, then pretended to be a security guard and ran away. Police arrested him when he tried to use the stolen…

Since the recession hit here in Spain, I have had my wages cut 7% for two years running. That's to basically to pay for the cock ups the bankers made, through bailouts, and their crap investments. No one went to jail there, but I have lost money an order of magnitude bigger than if I had had my wallet stolen.

Re: A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what?

#186

Post by kayoone »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #181
Jtsummers wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) I've not seen the numbers, but I'll concede that's likely true, particularly on highways. 2) For someone who wants long sentences for other offenses, it seems odd that you don't see that control of speed (particularly on city streets, my view on highway speed limits is different) and ticketing of speeders is also a pretty effective mitigator of reckless driving on those same streets. It doesn't stop it, we'll neve…

"If the cost of keeping him out of [society] exceeds the cost he inflicts by his presence, I'd say we should keep him incarcerated and spend less"

You know what it costs to imprison a human being for 40-50 years? I doubt it outweighs a couple of stolen wallets...

Re: A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what?

#187

Post by collyw »

chc wrote: post #143
mschuster91 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The noteworthy politics-related stories I've seen in the last months almost always deal with either the NSA scandal or other attacks to basic human rights, including this one. And I don't see any reason for these stories not to be on HN. Human rights matter for everyone.

Yes, human rights matter to everyone. So do urination and defecation — we quite literally could not live without them — but those aren't appropriate in all situations either. When I say something doesn't belong on Hacker News, I don't mean it's unimportant or doesn't matter. I just mean that it isn't what this site is for. There are many, many stories that are relevant and important to me personally that are still no…

I read political stories here, as the responses are generally a lot better thought out than the kind you will get on Reddit. (To be fair you get decent responses on Reddit, but they are tucked away amongst a lot more noise).

Re: A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what?

#188

Post by grecy »

lostlogin wrote: post #33
spodek wrote: post #7

It's a crying shame. Normally that's an empty phrase, but it describes this. I can't imagine reading this and not feeling tears well up. No sense of what I would call humanity. From what perspective does this make the world a better place? What am I missing about being human that this fits into that I don't understand?

Failure to sign the Ottawa treaty (anti landmine) and the international criminal court agreements, execution of minors (and execution at all), assassination of opponents even if citizens (via drones), torture, war crimes, illegal invasions, use of phosphorus (probably comes under war crimes), continual killing of civilians in non declared wars, massive prison population, secret prisons, outsourcing torture, supportin…

Who sees the US as a leader in any measure of what it's like to live there? No one I know.

Re: A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what?

#190

Post by grecy »

beloch wrote: post #149

The U.S. and Canada have very similar cultures, so comparisons here have some meaning. The U.S.'s per capita incarceration rate is 6.28 times Canada's [1] and the per capita number of police officers is 1.26 times higher in the U.S.[2]. However, the intentional homicide rate of the U.S. is 2.94 times that of Canada[3]. Certain types of offenses (e.g. drug offenses) are higher in Canada, but the violent crime rate is…

Many people don't appreciate how much a solid social net does to reduce crime. Even the poorest Canadians have access to good health care and education.

In America, I have no doubt in my mind I'd steal to pay for an operation on my kids. Hell, I'd rob a bank at gunpoint if it came down to it.

In Canada, I just walk into a Hospital.

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