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galkktoday at 4:28 AM2 repliesview on HN

The deeds are horrifying to read. You can do nothing wrong and die by hands of some piece of shit just because you were at wrong place at wrong time. follow up actions of some are even more sad and scary. Killing another human being meant nothing to some of murderers, like killing a fly.

Those apologies are too little too late. Good riddance.

I have no sympathy for them, and I’m all in for using those for involuntary dangerous drug testing and stuff like that. Those pieces of shit lost their human privileges after what they did.


Replies

maesttoday at 4:50 AM

Yes, those acts are immensely terrible and the apologies feel minuscule by comparison. But I think there's room for more nuance here.

There are multiple reasons we put people in jail:

1. the victims can feel some vindication and retribution

2. other members of society can feel some vindication and retribution and a sense of justice

3. other would-be criminals are detered from committing similar crimes for fear of punishment

4. making people feel safe by showing them criminals are punished

5. removing a bad actor from society

6. reforming a bad actor and reintroducing them into society

Different cultures emphasize different combinations of reasons. For example, ine notable divide is how, in the US, 6. is considered to be the product of a naive mind, whereas in some nordic countries, that goal is taken seriously, with some amount of success (and perhaps at the detriment of other goals).

Anyway, I think your point is that, even if you take the convicts' apologies at face value, goals 1. and 2. remain unfulfilled. And 3. is probably weakened.

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crotetoday at 6:12 AM

> Those pieces of shit lost their human privileges after what they did.

If inmates don't get human rights, then every single person is just a corrupt judge away from becoming a non-person.

No matter how horrible a person has acted, the government simply cannot be trusted not to abuse such power.

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