How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours
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Re: How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours
#2Norway also has the world’s lowest recidivism rate at 20 percent, while America sees 75 percent of its prisoners re-offend within five years of release. [0]
It's interesting that in the U.S. many people champion the power of incentives to produce goods and services efficiently yet are blind to the perverse incentives of having privately-run prisons. Of course a corporation whose profit comes from running prisons does not want to reduce the recidivism rate.
[0] https://www.encartele.net/2018/04/what-can-us-correctional-f...
Re: How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours
#3> "In Norway, the punishment is just to take away someone's liberty. The other rights stay. Prisoners can vote, they can have access to school, to health care; they have the same rights as any Norwegian citizen. Because inmates are human beings. They have done wrong, they must be punished, but they are still human beings."
> "In Norway, all will be released - there are no life sentences," he reminds me.
Really? Even with this low recidivism rate, I find this hard to accept somehow.
I don't even think deranged people like serial killers and pedophile rapists can change.
Even if they could theoretically change, why would we accept them back in society and spend any resources on them after they did that?
That doesn't make us more human. We are redefining 'humanity' to match our politics. But we have evolved over millions of years. Those two things can't coexist.
(edit: removed a paragraph, it was kinda OT)
Re: How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours
#4> "In Norway, the punishment is just to take away someone's liberty. The other rights stay. Prisoners can vote, they can have access to school, to health care; they have the same rights as any Norwegian citizen. Because inmates are human beings. They have done wrong, they must be punished, but they are still human beings." > "In Norway, all will be released - there are no life sentences," he reminds me. Really? Even…
There are no life sentences; this does not mean that individuals can’t be detained indefinitely. If a prisoner is not judged fit for release, their sentence can be extended by up to I think four or five years at a time. The Norwegian prison system isn’t releasing flocks of “serial killers and paedophile rapists” as a result of not imposing life sentences at conviction.
Re: How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours
#5Something something wouldn't work in other countries something something small population something something ethnically homogeneous blah blah.
Re: How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours
#6I’ve read about this place on several different occasions. It fits with my world view of what criminal justice reform should look like.
Sadly, in the US (where I live) this would never fly. We are a people of violence and revenge and want those who’ve done us wrong to suffer. It doesn’t matter that it perpetuates a cycle. Even if a miracle happened and a place like this was brought into existence, some politician would start using it to score cheap shots. “Look what $party_name is doing! Sending rapists and murderers to a health spa!! I’m TOUGH on crime! I’ll end this!!”
I suppose I would have a hard time swallowing someone who killed a love one of mine getting to do yoga in the woods too. Dunno.
Re: How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours
#7> "In Norway, the punishment is just to take away someone's liberty. The other rights stay. Prisoners can vote, they can have access to school, to health care; they have the same rights as any Norwegian citizen. Because inmates are human beings. They have done wrong, they must be punished, but they are still human beings." > "In Norway, all will be released - there are no life sentences," he reminds me. Really? Even…
Well pedophiles and rapists arent all given life sentences in the US system, it varies greatly
So which part do you disagree with? That prisoners can vote?
Re: How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours
#8> "In Norway, the punishment is just to take away someone's liberty. The other rights stay. Prisoners can vote, they can have access to school, to health care; they have the same rights as any Norwegian citizen. Because inmates are human beings. They have done wrong, they must be punished, but they are still human beings." > "In Norway, all will be released - there are no life sentences," he reminds me. Really? Even…
Well pedophiles and rapists arent all given life sentences in the US system, it varies greatly So which part do you disagree with? That prisoners can vote?
I find that unbearable and senseless, doesn't matter who does it.
Certain people need to be excluded from the society and there is nothing wrong with it. Why do we insist otherwise?
How did we manage to convince ourselves that is "more humane"?
Re: How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours
#9> "In Norway, the punishment is just to take away someone's liberty. The other rights stay. Prisoners can vote, they can have access to school, to health care; they have the same rights as any Norwegian citizen. Because inmates are human beings. They have done wrong, they must be punished, but they are still human beings." > "In Norway, all will be released - there are no life sentences," he reminds me. Really? Even…
There are no life sentences; this does not mean that individuals can’t be detained indefinitely. If a prisoner is not judged fit for release, their sentence can be extended by up to I think four or five years at a time. The Norwegian prison system isn’t releasing flocks of “serial killers and paedophile rapists” as a result of not imposing life sentences at conviction.
OK in that case, it's semantics.
You can call it whatever you want, as long as you keep certain people forever excluded from society. Preferably at low cost.
Re: How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours
#10Norway also has the world’s lowest recidivism rate at 20 percent, while America sees 75 percent of its prisoners re-offend within five years of release. [0] It's interesting that in the U.S. many people champion the power of incentives to produce goods and services efficiently yet are blind to the perverse incentives of having privately-run prisons. Of course a corporation whose profit comes from running prisons does…
Do state run prisons have lower rates?