I have often watched shows about ancient days when they had slavery.
How would it feel to know that if you ever lucked out the wrong way, that you might find yourself being chattel and forced to perform hard labor for the balance of your life?
But y'know...
Nowadays it is possible to get a life sentence for something...
Maybe you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Maybe you made an error in Judgement.
Maybe you weren't even remotely guilty.
But you can find yourself sentenced to life in the prison system.
I'm not a humanitarian and I'm far from being a bleeding heart.
I'm not opposed to the Death Sentence in principle, but in our society I oppose it in practice.
Its one thing for a bunch of people to sit in judgement on one of their own—they know him and know of him—sentence him to be hung—or whatever...
And the sentence takes place in less than a month.
Sentencing a stranger who will sit for years on death row exhausting his appeals—that is cold hearted.
Is it a deterrent to some crimes?
Not really, because we can't apply it in the wholesale lots that it would take to actually be a deterrent (assuming that it might ever be a deterrent) and stay even remotely a free and good country.
Long sentences?
I'm running out of enthusiasm for the topic, but I have a number of reasons to suppose that longer sentences aren't the answer.
Finally, remember the Golden Rule.
If you or someone you care about should ever be incarcerated long term—how would you like for them to treat you or your loved one?
Be reasonable. I'm not talking Country Club Prison—sure you might prefer that for yourself, but that is not reasonable.
But you wouldn't expect to be treated like a caged animal, over crowded, feed unappetizing and low nutrition food and generally tormented like concentration camp inmates.
We can't afford to treat our prisoners like human beings?
Well then, we need to make that a top priority.
Some things are equally important—a few.
Nothing we do as a Nation (or State) is more important.
.....RVM45
