I think he served his time......

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SP33Demon

Lifer
Jun 22, 2001
27,928
143
106
This sort of case poses an interesting set of questions on crime and punishment.

What is the purpose of punishment for crimes? Is it simply vengeance? Do we put people in jail because we want to hurt them, but are not sadistic enough to actually torture them or kill them? Or do we put people in prison to protect society? If we put people in prison to protect society then would this man, by virtue of being an upstanding citizen and family man for 40 years, have proven that he not a threat to society and therefore has in fact done his time?

You could argue that taking someone's freedom is a form of torture. Yes, prison protects us from people who cannot abide by society's rules; such as this guy who murdered someone in cold blood and created a crazy alter ego to rationalize it in his mind. How do you know he will never snap and revert back to "Frankie Valentine the murderer" again? Akin to an animal that mauls a human and can never be a pet again, they must be destroyed or locked away forever.

This (destroying or locking away a murderer forever) is because nobody wants to ever take the blame for being on the wrong end of the bet that rehab will work, and that the perp will never murder again. The conscience is a very demanding yet fragile entity and America is all about winning. You can never lose if you never try.
 

CKent

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
9,020
0
0
This man killed someone as a young man. He walked away after being paroled in the 60s. Now he is 79 years old and they put him back behind bars. I don't see the purpose of putting a 79 year old man back in prison for a crime he did his time on, but he just skipped out on parole.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/new...S.Wedding.Chapel.Fugitive/?cid=hero_mainlink2
Why should he ever get out? His victim will never come back to life. If we stopped idiotically jailing people for drugs we'd have money and space to put all the people who really deserve it in there for life, and maybe sterilize them while we're at it.

Anyway, at what age do you suggest we be able to commit crimes with impunity, never having to serve time? 65? 75? I hope I live that long, there's a lot of people I've love to give a knuckle sandwich to, and if I can avoid serving time for it, so much the better! :biggrin:
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,915
6,792
126
What a load of irrational gibberish. Go back to clown college.

They taught me in clown collage that I could not simply dismiss an argument by saying it is irrational gibberish because it would reveal my lack of intelligence in making sense of something that was gibberish only as a result of my own stupidity or lack of any real knowledge or experience. But it's OK with me if you do. I understand in ways you can't imagine, accessing my deep clown nature, your need to avoid feeling the pain that has crushed your soul. Trust this clown who knows more than you can possibly imagine, that you have a soul that is untarnished and redolent with God.