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If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill...........................

Should criminals be released(no prison)if rehabilitation came in the form of a pill?

  • They should still serve out what ever punishment they were handed.

    Votes: 20 51.3%

  • They should be released after taking the pill.

    Votes: 15 38.5%

  • I do not know.

    Votes: 4 10.3%
  • Total voters
    39
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

jamesrage said:
I decided to resurrect this poll instead of making a new one.
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And I still don't see why they shouldn't be released, if they're completely rehabilitated and no longer a threat to anyone. Locking them up in a cage is the default sentence for one reason, and one reason only: It removes them from society so they can't hurt anyone else. If they aren't going to do that, there's no reason to lock them up in a cage.

Now, this in no way relieves them of their civil obligations to their victims. If a victim wants to sue the criminal, they should most definitely be able to collect damages, even if the criminal has been rehabilitated.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Kandahar said:
And I still don't see why they shouldn't be released, if they're completely rehabilitated and no longer a threat to anyone. Locking them up in a cage is the default sentence for one reason, and one reason only: It removes them from society so they can't hurt anyone else. If they aren't going to do that, there's no reason to lock them up in a cage.

Now, this in no way relieves them of their civil obligations to their victims. If a victim wants to sue the criminal, they should most definitely be able to collect damages, even if the criminal has been rehabilitated.
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This is what I thought, and how I voted.

However, I voted too soon; upon thinking about it, I changed my mind.

If there's no punishment involved, where's the disincentive? If there is none, people will just steal until they're rich, then when they're caught, hey, they just take a pill and no harm done right?
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

They should of course still serve out some punishment, though I don't know if it should be the same term as they otherwise would have received.

Think about it for a second - if you simply got the pill and were released, why on earth would you not break the law until you got caught?

If you hated someone, you could murder them knowing that even if you got caught you'd just get the pill and be back out on the street tomorrow. You'd be back out there and they'd be out of the way. Civil damages don't make up for that, especially if the perpetrator is poor.

Similarly, everyone would try to rob/steal. If you get away, you've got the money. If not, oh well, you're back on the street without any civil damages to speak of.

Prison serves lots of purposes - one of those is deterrence.

edit: I see I was not the first to come up with this unique and altogether brilliant point. :lol:
 
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Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Dav said:
This is what I thought, and how I voted.

However, I voted too soon; upon thinking about it, I changed my mind.

If there's no punishment involved, where's the disincentive? If there is none, people will just steal until they're rich, then when they're caught, hey, they just take a pill and no harm done right?
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They could also rape, murder, commit armed robbery and other crimes as long as they can get away with it and if caught only worry a pill.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Kandahar said:
And I still don't see why they shouldn't be released, if they're completely rehabilitated and no longer a threat to anyone. Locking them up in a cage is the default sentence for one reason, and one reason only: It removes them from society so they can't hurt anyone else. If they aren't going to do that, there's no reason to lock them up in a cage.
Click to expand...

The point of prison is punishment.
Now, this in no way relieves them of their civil obligations to their victims. If a victim wants to sue the criminal, they should most definitely be able to collect damages, even if the criminal has been rehabilitated.
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Why should the victims have to spend any effort,time or money on their part to get justice done? The only thing letting scum go after taking pill would do is increase or make vigilante justice skyrocket. Because some scumbag going "but I'm "cured" or "I'm rehabilitated" while serving no time or barely any time is going to piss off the family of murder and rape victims.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

They should still serve their sentence, then be released to live normal lives. Unless of course the pill wears off after awhile.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

They should serve the sentence as punishment for the crime.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

It would eliminate deterrence, period.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Imprisonment or whatever other penalty deemed necessary by the courts, is a debt to society that is being paid by the criminal. Just being rehabilitated doesn't pay that debt, although I'd be the first one to say that rehabilitation should be one of the requirements for all criminals to be released.

Being sorry doesn't make it all better, sorry. If you're sentenced to 10 years, you should serve 10 years and when you get out, you ought to be able to make your own way in the world and be a productive member of society.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

jamesrage said:
Lets say if it was possible to rehabilitate every criminal and make them feel remorse with a single pill and there were no chances of relapses,should criminals be given the pill and released immediately back into society/not have to serve out a punishment or should they still serve out what ever punishment the courts gave them

I believe rehabilitation is one of the goals of the prison system,but not a priority.Punishment is the main priority of the justice system,deterrence of criminal activity is the second priority.
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Wait...so if they took the pill, they wouldn't be criminals and wouldn't recommit a crime? Well I guess in that context, yeah don't throw them in jail. In fact, it would seem that we wouldn't need jails at that point. The thing that really worries me is that pill itself.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

RightinNYC said:
Think about it for a second - if you simply got the pill and were released, why on earth would you not break the law until you got caught?

If you hated someone, you could murder them knowing that even if you got caught you'd just get the pill and be back out on the street tomorrow. You'd be back out there and they'd be out of the way. Civil damages don't make up for that, especially if the perpetrator is poor.

Similarly, everyone would try to rob/steal. If you get away, you've got the money. If not, oh well, you're back on the street without any civil damages to speak of.
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Certainly. That's why I applauded the post some pages back where someone noted that the pill would have to be combined with some kind of serious effort at reparation-- it doesn't have to pay back society for the harm inflicted, it just has to hurt the perpetrator more than the crime was worth to them. And, given the conditions of the hypothetical, it would seem that anyone who took the pill would be eager to make such reparations even if they were onerous.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Pill plus savage beatings = win.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Tucker Case said:
Pill plus savage beatings = win.
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Have to give them the pill first, though. So they think they deserve the beatings.

Even better if the pill causes them to forget the crime.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Korimyr the Rat said:
Have to give them the pill first, though. So they think they deserve the beatings.

Even better if the pill causes them to forget the crime.
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Forgetting the crime itself, while remembering that they committed a crime and want to be punished for it would be optimal.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Korimyr the Rat said:
Have to give them the pill first, though. So they think they deserve the beatings.

Even better if the pill causes them to forget the crime.
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"Huh, why am I in this room? This is a little strange, I was just hanging out and then - AH OH MY GOD WHAT THE **** ARE YOU DOING OH LORD HAVE MERCY"
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

jamesrage said:
You do the crime you do the time.
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The time is a punishment and a deterrent both are in hopes of insuring people do not want to break laws. If we had the magical pill that did the same what purpose would serving time be? We would just waste another life and the money to support that wasted life while in prison.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Baralis said:
The time is a punishment and a deterrent both are in hopes of insuring people do not want to break laws. If we had the magical pill that did the same what purpose would serving time be? We would just waste another life and the money to support that wasted life while in prison.
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If you only viewed prison as merely a hospital for criminals in other words reform, then letting them go after taking the pill makes sense. I however view that the main purpose of prison is punishment for a crime committed and that punishment itself a deterrent. A magical pill is no deterrent,nor is it punishment nor is it justice for the victims of these criminals.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

jamesrage said:
Lets say if it was possible to rehabilitate every criminal and make them feel remorse with a single pill and there were no chances of relapses,should criminals be given the pill and released immediately back into society/not have to serve out a punishment or should they still serve out what ever punishment the courts gave them

I believe rehabilitation is one of the goals of the prison system,but not a priority.Punishment is the main priority of the justice system,deterrence of criminal activity is the second priority.
Click to expand...

Feeling remorse after the fact does not justify innocence. They still committed the crime knowing well enough that the circumstances were under control. So unless the criminal was completely oblivious to their actions and had no control over their actions, then a punishment should still be served.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Why do we need a pill? "Ice pick" lobotomies have been around for more than a century I believe, and could certainly be used to turn some of the vilest offenders into useful laborers.

Besides, using a pill to alter someones personality seems a little less hinest than a method that involves bleeding and pain.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

jamesrage said:
If you only viewed prison as merely a hospital for criminals in other words reform, then letting them go after taking the pill makes sense. I however view that the main purpose of prison is punishment for a crime committed and that punishment itself a deterrent. A magical pill is no deterrent,nor is it punishment nor is it justice for the victims of these criminals.
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I believe that the long sentences for serious crimes is played off as punishment but in reality it is to keep problematic people out of society. I am a strong supporter of criminal reform. I believe the key to helping both society and criminals serve the same interest is harder but shorter sentences and reforming the criminals instead of tossing away our indesireables.

When we toss those away that are willing to change in the guise of punishment we are hurting both the criminal and society by wasting lives as well as tax dollars.

I believe that once someone is truely remorseful and has changed thier ways further punishment serves no real purpose other then making a person hate their lives. It does not make them more remorseful or more reformed and generally longer terms will in fact make the person more likely to hate society.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Baralis said:
I believe that the long sentences for serious crimes is played off as punishment but in reality it is to keep problematic people out of society. I am a strong supporter of criminal reform. I believe the key to helping both society and criminals serve the same interest is harder but shorter sentences and reforming the criminals instead of tossing away our indesireables.

When we toss those away that are willing to change in the guise of punishment we are hurting both the criminal and society by wasting lives as well as tax dollars.

I believe that once someone is truely remorseful and has changed thier ways further punishment serves no real purpose other then making a person hate their lives. It does not make them more remorseful or more reformed and generally longer terms will in fact make the person more likely to hate society.
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Punishment is not about what the offender wants or feels. I am sure that a lot of victims and victim's loved ones are not going to care one way or the other if the offender is genuinely sorry and remorseful or will not victimize another person once outside of prison.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

I think there should still be some sort of punishment. Not for punishments sake so much as for restitution. At least as much restitution as there could be.
A remorseful person [as stated as a condition in the OP iirc] would wish to make amends as best as he could. And I think it would serve society for such an individual to make amends (as much as amends could be made).
So I would be in favor of punishment, but some sort of fruitful punishment not just languishing in incarceration.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Of course the focus of any sound criminal justice system will be prevention and deterrence. A focus on purposeless retributive punishment will likely exacerbate the crimes that were targeted by it in the first place.
 
Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

Agnapostate said:
Of course the focus of any sound criminal justice system will be prevention and deterrence. A focus on purposeless retributive punishment will likely exacerbate the crimes that were targeted by it in the first place.
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How is there any motivation for criminals to obey the law if the only thing that is going to happen is "here is a pill have a nice day"? What I see happening with this sort of mentality of releasing criminals who take a pill instead of actually punishing them is encouraging vigilante justice.Because after all if the only criminals have to worry about is taking a pill and being released back into society, then so will the grieving father whose daughter was raped or the parents whose son was murdered or the parents whose child was raped and murdered by some pedophile. Retributive punishment( as you call it)administered by the courts is like an unspoken or unwritten agreement with the society so that a angry mob of people do not abduct and administer their own brand of justice anytime someone accuses someone else of wrongdoing. People are not going to trust the courts to administer justice if the courts do not administer justice and will take the law into their own hands to make up for the law's refusal to do so.
 
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Re: If it was possible to rehabilitate criminals with one pill.......................

I never could decide what to say in this thread, because I can't accept the concept of a pill that cures criminality.

If there were such a thing, the government would probably require everyone to take it, whether you've ever committed a crime or not.
 
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