I'm sorry that you can't concept that sometimes prison actually makes things worse and turns people more towards the negative behavior, and not away. While I will agree that a person who actually acts upon pedophillic desires deserves to be jailed, jailing them will not address the source of the problem. You're just as effective to give a person antibiotics for an infection without treating the rotting tissue that is causing the infection.
Ah because such people can never make typing errors or inadvertent word switches. Well in that case I would guess the Christians thought they could get away with requiring adultery ---but we're caught. (Ref:wicked bible)
which still doesn't address the question asked. The overall point of pedophilia being made a disorder is so that those who have not yet harmed a child can get help. Yet and your ilk would just as soon put them to death the moment you learn of their desires instead of helping them overcome their disorder. But hey let's continue with your logic. If a person commits murder due to being mentally retarded, would hanging them be an effective deterrent to others becoming mentally retarded...as well as a permanent end of the behavior for the guilty party? Don't forget to answer both questions.
Belive it or not, I am very liberal on some issues. Like the prison system for the last 200 years. At least in the US---a failure. Would you take a pill that didn't work or made you worse 67% of the time? The liberalization of the criminal justice system over the last 60 years has made our prison systems even more of a failure.
We don't need to put people in jail for stealing a loaf of bread for being hungry, or place them in stocks and let the public throw rotted food at them. But certainly prisoners should be forced to work outside at least 6 days a week weather permitting. For new offenders, prision boot camps are a good idea, for repeat offenders, esp. violent ones, hard time in chain gangs for no more than a few years is in order. If anyone does any violent act bad enough to spend more than 10 years in prison, espeically for a career felon, then captial punishment should be used. No life sentances.
The APA making a typo in their DSM? Pleeeaaasssseeee. The Christians who think they can bypass hardcore moral laws are far worse than any secular pagan at the APA. Those who preach what they think or feels good and not moral laws straight out of the Bible are at best, false teachers.
Enough with the Strawman already. I said that only the pedophiles convicted of having sexaul acts with children under 12 should be hanged. Otherwise, they should seek help before they act.
"Mentally retarded" is another constantly evolving diagnosis---and very subjective at that. Notice how the courts have two sets of experts on each side of the court, one saying they are retarded, and one they are not. Someone is wrong.
I go by the standard measure of what insanity is: The person doesn't know what they are doing is wrong. If there is ANY attempt at lying about the crime, covering it up, or attempting to flee---then they are not insane. If someone without Down's syndrome and classified as being "retarded" AND they tried to lie, cover it up or flee---then there should be a right to imprison or hang them based on the crime.
An insane person, for instance, would chop someone up with an ax, then leave a bloody trail to his home where he will be found watching TV. The threat of capital punishment would be no deterrent for such a person.