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Hello, GAF. Conversation came up today among friends regarding the death penalty, for and against, what have you. Generally, my stance has always been "for", because the only alternative to a death sentence tends to be life imprisonment, which I've never understood. Keep in mind that I live in the USA. Problem is, as a nation we've always stated "rehabilitation" is the purpose of our criminal justice system, where it's applicable. Those who are put to death are, for some reason or another, deemed resistant to rehabilitation, right? So what of the lifers? Why do we keep them around? What ends are we serving by locking people up for the rest of their lives, feeding them, clothing them, etc. when we've essentially admitted they're a lost cause?
I don't mean to present this as a thread discussing the death penalty - it's not. My question is this: in a system devoted to the rehabilitation of some and the grave punishment of those who cannot be rehabilitated, what purpose does the life sentence serve? Or any absurdly long sentence, for that matter? Is it somehow more humane to deprive someone of their life by locking them in a cage until death than out-right killing them? What are your thoughts?
I don't mean to present this as a thread discussing the death penalty - it's not. My question is this: in a system devoted to the rehabilitation of some and the grave punishment of those who cannot be rehabilitated, what purpose does the life sentence serve? Or any absurdly long sentence, for that matter? Is it somehow more humane to deprive someone of their life by locking them in a cage until death than out-right killing them? What are your thoughts?