sushi69 t1_jdzxthw wrote on March 28, 2023 at 12:48 PM

Unpopular opinion: I’ve been cycling for over a decade, and while I sympathize for the cyclist, I can also believe that this man is rehabilitated and I don’t know if an additional 11 months of punishment (from rejecting the motion to vacate) does more than the potential positive effects of him seeing goodwill through vacation of the sentence.

arichnad t1_je1bjd3 wrote on March 28, 2023 at 6:19 PM

> believe that this man is rehabilitated

What do you base this on? I'd like to agree, but this all happened four years ago.

sushi69 t1_je1dt02 wrote on March 28, 2023 at 6:33 PM

I'm not sure it's true, but I can believe it.

If he's rehabilitated after 4 years, then he could be eligible for early release. If he's not, 11 more months ain't gonna do it.

arichnad t1_je1h40z wrote on March 28, 2023 at 6:54 PM

Before you said you believed he was rehabilitated now you say it doesn't matter if he is or not. While I think both are fine positions, you have changed your argument.

I agree 11 months won't help his chances for rehabilitation, but he's literally a violent felon who will possibly reoffend: those 11 months are important for people (literally) on the street.

sushi69 t1_je3jsd2 wrote on March 29, 2023 at 3:43 AM

I didn't say he was rehabilitated, I don't even know him. Sorry for the confusion.

What I meant is that I can believe someone would be rehabilitated after years in jail, and I can believe others wouldn't. But after serving years in prison you've either learned your lesson or you haven't, and 11 more months wouldn't change it as you agreed.

And let's be real, sending people to prison isn't rehabilitative nor does it really protect the public when there is an endless number of crazy people out.

arichnad t1_je78pam wrote on March 29, 2023 at 10:28 PM

> isn't rehabilitative nor does it really protect the public

What is the point, then? I don't think it is a deterrent except in rare nonviolent cases, and it shouldn't be a form of revenge. I feel like protecting the public is the real reason jail/prison should exist. Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it.

sushi69 t1_je7ydbc wrote on March 30, 2023 at 1:40 AM

Thank you, for having a conversation about it!

I think in the case of those totally depraved (mass murder, child abuse, repeat murder, etc) then sentencing them for life could be a way to protect the public.

I think if people are a physical threat to others then they also should be locked up but I'm not sure about what the right duration is. I don't know that "sentencing guidelines" are really that effective considering how high recidivism is. I think the justice system focuses more on penalizing than on rehabilitation.

These are just my random thoughts, so thanks for listening. I don't have all the answers but I know that the public seems to think that anyone who commits any crime is a waste of a person and can just be locked away forever, and that they are morally corrupt and unfixable or something like that. "They would do something bad, and I would never do such a thing", "they're a bad person and I'm a good one", etc. We all justify the rules we break and things we do that are wrong but judge others for what they do.