I'm all for hard work being part of prison sentence. That way the society gets at least some money back from what it costs to host these people.

I also think that some crimes that land you in jail in the US should be finable offences at best, anything involving mild drugs for example. It's a waste of taxpayer money to put harmless stoners behind bars.

I don't really have any idea on Canadian drug laws, I should probably check at some point.

Along the same lines, I remember reading about a judge in Florida who was pushing for drunk drivers to display bumper stickers to let other drivers know about their driving habits. I think this is a great idea!

Planning a fun trip to Canada?

No, I live here.

I thought you lived here. Oops :p

So, how do you like Canada? How's the weather? Do you think it would be a gentle transition from USA to there?

My thoughts exactly! Which brings us circling back to ankabout's starter comment.

I think it's in Texas that a warden/sheriff/whatever puts the prisoners in tents and pink jumpsuits, then makes them work for their crappy bologna sandwiches. THAT is a prison!

England! Seriously, if they brought in the death penalty, it would solve the massive problems of overcrowded prisons.

The weather is quite similiar to Finland (where I'm from). It gets a bit colder, below -40 or so, but SK is so far from the coast it's less humid.

The Nordic countries are very liberal, very agnostic, very socialistic, I find Canada is somewhere in between USA and Scandinavia in most things.

There's a VERY good point that I have not thought of. We're putting people in jail that shouldn't be there, because they are committing offenses that are not necessarily so bad that we have to remove them from society. We have to remember that a jail sentence is twofold. First it's a punishment for the person to 'contemplate' and all. And secondly, it's to isolate that person from society.

Why lock someone up that smokes up and fries his own brain? Of course we don't do that in Holland, but I'd hate it if they did that with my tax money.

I think the first thing the US needs to do is get rid of the ban on "Cruel and Unusual" punishment.

It's because of the "Cruel and Unusual" law that we must sterilize needles before lethal injection. Heaven forbid the person dying gets an infection after they're dead!

I think we should go back to biblical times for punishment. You get caught stealing, you loose a hand. You kill someone, you get stoned to death.

I feel that the punishment for most crimes is so lenient, criminals are not scared of it.




That's in Arizona.

I'm completely for physical labour as a form of punishment - they help build aspects of society while hopefully learning a lesson. I also think prisons should not have any luxeries that can hardly be afforded by the rest of the poplation (who are paying for the system). I was dissappointed to visit a medium-security prison while I was a student to see cable TV, a 9-hole golf course and fancy meals for the inmates, while I had to return to a cold apartment and macaroni.

Reform - I'd maybe only support it if someone could give me some cold, hard evidence that the majority (as in more than 80%) of the criminals were not repeat offenders.... otherwise, I'm not really convinced. Perhaps it could successfully augment a prison-work regiment.

Ehm, you could also try to reduce crime to solve this problem. Maybe find out why people have to steal etc. But of course I'm too politically correct.

Maybe just kill some extra people who drive cars, it'll help us get rid of those darn traffic jams.

Very Draconian. I like it!

England! Didn't one of your kings hack off the heads of several wives? I thought you guys still did that stuff, selling meat pies to the peasants and all that. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

That's exactly what I was talking about with hacking off the genitals of molestors and rapists. (Of course, it would suck if you were wrongly accused.)Needless to say, I agree with you on this one.

Did you guys ever see that Outer Limits episode (the new one) where a guy developed a "virtual prison"?

Basically the criminal got hooked up to a computer and put through a simulated horrible prison sentence that only lasted a few minutes in real time but seemed to last for years to the prisoner. The program remained running as long as the prisoner felt he deserved it.

That would be an excellent idea if it could actually be developed. I'm sure there's some way to do this, maybe a combination of hypnosis and transcranial magnetic stimulation.