What purpose does giving someone a life sentance without parole serve in the context of rehabilitation?

Question

What are they possibly going to learn by rotting in jail for the rest of their lives without any chance of being set free besides contempt for our legal system?

da_bears - Well obviously, but does that mean that we need to give them a legitimate reason to?

Answer 1

It serves no purpose in the context of rehab. It's purely for the sake of punishment. I agree with you in some regards, but there was a man who was recently paroled to Ohio from Missouri. He was sentenced to life for murdering a 5 year old boy. Last year, he was arrested for murdering a teenage girl. He was thought to have been rehabilitated.

Answer 2

It serves no purpose re: rehabilitation whatsoever. There are a number of different reasons to imprison someone. Here are some:

1. Rehabilitation
2. Deterrence of the person who committed the crime from doing it again when they get out.
3. Deterrence of other persons from committing that crime.
4. Retribution (some philosophers just think that, in some sort of Karmic balancing act, that it is just "right" to punish the guilty and that there is no other reason necessary).
5. Warehousing criminals (Putting criminals some place, at least for a little while, where they can't do any harm to society).

Serving a life sentence obviously serves no rehabilitative purpose. Nor does it deter the person who has a life sentence from doing it again, because, as they will never get out, they can't do it again (at least, not on the outside). However, life sentences do warehouse criminals so that society is safe from them, it presumably deters others from committing the same crime, and it ensures retribution.

Answer 3

Some people, through their track record of ongoing criminal conduct, have proven themselves beyond rehabilitation and some people commit crimes so heinous that testing their potential rehabilitation on society amounts to nothing more then Russian roulette with innocent people's lives. Life without parole serves no purpose in the context of rehabilitation, the point of Life without parole is to protect society from the most heinous of criminals - the ones whose criminal conduct have already exhibited an extreme contempt for our legal system, for the rights of others, and in many cases, for human life itself.

Answer 4

Most of the persons that commit crimes serious enough to receive a sentence of life already have contempt for our court system!

The Federal system went to no parole a few years ago. That is why most do not want to be sentenced in federal court. If you get 20 you serve 20 minus good conduct which is about 50 days a year. Life means Life.

Answer 5

I don't think a life sentence is handed to a person for purposes of their own rehabilitation, but for the purpose of possibly deterring someone else from following in their footsteps! The "lifer" becomes a shining example of what NOT to do with your life, unless you would like to serve your own life in a cell for the remainder of your days on this earth! It also protects the public from a person who is NOT going to be rehabilitated. I also think a life sentence is handed down for purposes of observation & learning by our "system". The human physche is a good thing to study. What better way to learn how a criminals mind works, than to observe HOW they exist from day to day! Some of these people just MAY realize how wrong they were & then it gets VERY interesting to watch their daily lives & how they do or don't adapt to being incarcerated! They become human guinea pigs & lab rats!!!

Answer 6

Life in prison has nothing to do with rehabilitation. It has nothing to do with learning. It is an alternative to the death penalty. Considered one of the two highest penalties, it is meant as a means of ridding that person from society for good without killing them.

Rehabilitation the theory behind many prisons, but not all. Some prisons are nothing more than walls, meals, work, and finding a way to occupy your time until you get out.

Answer 7

The idea that prison is about rehabilitation is something that sounded good, but is hardly realistic. Studies show that criminal behavior isn't a one time deal. Most criminals make a career out of it. It's not to say that no one deserves a second chance. Sure we do. How many chances should a murderer, rapist, or one that stalks children get?

A murdered one never gets a second chance, and those abused by rape or child molestation will never know freedom from fear...ever again. You tell me what price should be paid for taking away ones autonomy.

Answer 8

It's DNA not D and A.

It allows them the ability to try and find some purpose in life. It gives them discipline and direction. They may find religion and begin to develop normally as they attempt to focus on the mayhem they caused. Eventually maybe they will actually understand the gravity of their crimes and truly regret it.

Second, it allows the families to have closure. They understand that even though they lost, somebody is paying for it. It gives them a sense of security knowing that whoever may have victimized their family is gone forever. Hopefully one day they will also have the opportunity to forgive the person.

Also, it allows mental health professionals an opportunity to study people and their behavior. Perhaps this will lead to earlier methods to identify problems in youth. In an ideal world, maybe true rehabilitation will one day be possible. In this way a convicts life may also serve a purpose.

Answer 9

Some crimes are so hideous that the Court considers the Defendant to be beyond Rehabilitation. In practice, there are many, many sentences handed out that include the possibility of parole and many of those individuals commit another violent crime as soon as they are out on parole. Is that fair to Society?

Answer 10

Sometimes incarceration offers an opportunity for rehabilitation, other times its for the sole purpose of punishment. Too bad going to prison isn't enough of a consequence to keep people from criminal behavior in the first place.