Bad behavior is not excusable. If people weren't inharently bad, bad behavior would cease to exist. This can never happen though because where there is society there are people who want to take advantage of it. Also yes, I do think courts should take a look at this because then they would find that Corporal Punishment is unjustifiable if the person is merely a product of their society. This way we could say, "Hey he had no chance at becoming a normal member of society because he was beaten as a child, grew up with drug addicted parents, has an IQ of 80, grew up in a drug infested neighborhood, all of his friends are drug addicts/criminals." If we can say all this, I would find it surprising if someone in this situation didn't turn out to be a drug addict/career criminal. As for 2), think of it this way. Just because he had such a **** start and was probably inevitably going to be a criminal does not mean that he shouldn't be "punished". I mean we can't allow as a society for people to run around addicted to crack or murdering families. That would be why we remove them from society, offer them help with their mental disorder, and try and reprogram that mind so that it thinks that the right thing to do is become a normal person of society. If maximizing someone's well being entails that, then I am all for it.
I totally agree about the fairness of laws. The laws are set up to maximize well being. Their isn't much inherently wrong with our current justice system's way of thinking. The problem is when people say, "He should be punished for murdering that family." Why should he be punished? When he was born into this world did he suddenly think that when he grew up he wanted to be a career criminal? No, of course not. I think that our thoughts/consciousness is like a boat on the sea. The boat rises and falls with the tides that it has no control over, and the only input that this metaphorical boat has is other boats seemingly passing by.
I do understand what you are saying, though you think I don't. I just completely disagree.
Have you noticed that you NEVER mention victims? Never. Why?
I look at from the victim's perspective. Why does the rapists rotten past allow mitigating what he did to her? She didn't make that past. What possible relevance is that to her? Nor is there any green-light that will flash on when the rapist is "cured," so the question is what right is there to - based upon guessing his subconscious being "fixed" - to expose more potential victims to him?
To the extent a person can be fixed, how is the fixing accomplished? How is bad behavior prevented? One way is fear of what will happen as a result. I've addressed the problem of MANY bad behavior men towards women. Men increasingly harassing a woman for example. Without exception, given my reputation and known/proven abilities, if I told that man "you cut that s...t out or I'm going to break your collar bone" he would correct his behavior. And because of I and a few other men like me, the women were and felt safe. And no one, including him, was hurt. His behavior accordingly modified. If I instead approached saying, "it seems something is troubling you inside you, what is it?" I'd end up having to break his collar bone or worse to prevent him from continuing to try to hurt me figuring I'm just a wimp-ass.
It was FEAR that modified men's behavior away from misconduct they wished to do subconsciously. But, you know, as far as I'm concerned, they can violently rape that woman inside his mind and fantasy all he cares to. Think any damn thing he wants. I only cared what he does, not how he thinks or feels.
Is it FEAR or state-of-mind that prevents crime? Do kids not shoplift because of fear of getting caught? Or because they feel good about themselves? I think it is fear of getting caught. And I think it need be absolutely known that if a person ends up in court for a crime they can't use self-pity of their past as a defense.
A limitation on me in terms of violence against "evil men" has always been my sense of knowing where the line-of-law it. I might push it to the max but I wouldn't just disregard it. I didn't beat some of those men to death because I felt good about myself. It is because I did not want to go to prison. I could defend within law breaking their bones and dislocating joints pushing "defensing others" or myself to the max, but not beating the person to death. So I didn't. Doesn't mean I didn't want to or even didn't believe doing so was the right thing to do.