HaysteRetreat t1_jaxe3wa wrote
Reply to comment by Chuckomo in People convicted of a federal cannabis possession charge can now apply to have the conviction removed from their records by OregonTripleBeam
One big point of all of this is that people who would otherwise be productive members of society are being prevented from fully contributing to the economy because of their criminal record.
Personal freedoms yaddayadda but the societal point of incarceration and keeping track of convictions is to limit people who would negatively impact the rest of society from doing so.
When laws go too far and you limit productive people, you harm everyone.
So ultimately it's not even about them and whatever sense of "justice" that compels the dumb parts of our human brains to feel its unfair that someone else is able to "get away with" breaking rules when we follow them.
alexmbrennan t1_jb0377k wrote
>One big point of all of this is that people who would otherwise be productive members of society
But could they be productive members of society?
If they cannot restrain themselves from taking illegal drugs that come with a significant prison sentence then I don't want them making my burger because food safety rules need to be followed and they have already demonstrated that they are not capable of following rules.
>societal point of incarceration and keeping track of convictions is to limit people who would negatively impact the rest of society from doing so.
If you cannot follow rules then you will negatively impact society. It doesn't matter if it's the speed limit, food safety or fire codes - if you break the rules then people can die.
HaysteRetreat t1_jb0wy66 wrote
Lol death penalty for jaywalking then.
Or at least right to jail.
The fact that there even is more than one punishment at all is pretty clear that your premise isn't considered true. Every human society has independently agreed that there are different severities to breaking the law. Arguably based on how much the violation negatively impacts society.
If we determine a violation or collection of violations means a person CANT contribute to society with a net positive we typically imprison them for life or send them to Texas and hit them with a brick.
The average American breaks 3 laws per day . Insert joke about the average American* but basically: people aren't perfect, and by extension, law makers and enforcers certainly aren't either. The racial disparity in drug arrests and sentencing is just one example.
Chuckomo t1_jb17dep wrote
Are you sure you read the comment you are answering to properly?
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments