If You Can't Do The Time, Don't Do The Crime...?

Question

...does anyone else agree criminals of whatever age who commit a crime deserve all they get? Are we too soft on offenders these days?

Answer 1

Yes and no. Too many celebrities, political figures, athletes, CEOs and rich people get off very easily for very, very serious crimes such as murder, rape, extortion, stealing large amounts of money, or treason.

On the other side, too many people serve very serious time for minor offenses such as drug offenses, or being a repeat offender for things such as stealing food from a grocery store numerous times. These people should do community service even if it's their 20th offense.

Murderers and terrorists walk the streets while drug addicts and petty thieves are locked up for many years. Something is wrong with this picture.

Answer 2

the "whatever age" concerns me. Age should be a factor. And of course, the nature of the crime taken into consideration. I've read articles about kids as young as 10 years old taking a car for a joy ride, then leading Police on a chase. Granted this "child" and that's what he is, a child, needs rehabilitation, not incarceration for many years. I think incarcerating a child makes matters worse, as the company he keeps will raise him as opposed to his parents. That has to have a very negative impact on that childs mental & behavior.

what if the child is a repeat offender? This chages the game then. If after the first offense, this "child" continues his criminal ways, or even worsens his ways, then this needs to be taken into consideration, and more harsher penalties meted out. Being forgiving & giving the "child" the benefit of the doubt got thrown back in socities faces. That must not be tolerated.

In this situation, the "child" was most likely warned of the consequences should he repeat his actions. This tells me and every reasonable person out there, that this "child" is a bad seed & probably destined to be in and out of prison for life, and his continuing crimanal actions shows he doesn't care about the consequences of his actions.

What if the first offense is a serious crime such as aggravated assault, murder, arson, rape? Whole different ballgame here. This isn't like stealing a milky way bar from a candy store owner. "child" or not, these are serious offenses and must be treated seriously.

A "childs" first brush with the law, providing the crime is minor in nature, should be dealt with in a rehabilitative way, as opposed to playing hard ball.

Other criminals getting off to easy? There are "sentencing guidelines" judges must follow, whether they like it or not. The "sentencing guidelines" probably need to change. There are also plea bargains all day everyday. This is to expedite the system and clear the dockets. Otherwise, it may take years to hear cases.

Our system has flaws. It always will. There is no way to fix all of it. Maybe if a lot of bad guys out there would stop being bad guys, life would be a lot better. I do not condone a vigilante approach to the situation, as that too is criminal BUT....sometimes fearing a good tail whooping by honest citizens can put some fear in the bad guys hearts. Just don't get caught because this bad guy will have YOU in jail, and he walks away laughing.

Answer 3

Thanks to the liberals, there is no real punishment for crime. and it's true - if you don't want to do the time, do not do the crime. And yes, the punishment should be the same. A person murdered by a 13-year-old is just as dead as a person murdered by a 25-year-old. The murdered person does not get "another chance". Why should the murderer? And while we are on the subject, prison should be a punishment for the crime committed, not a pass to free gyms, free internet, free college courses, etc. Prisoners should have to work for their food and clothing just like law-abiding people do.

Answer 4

Most definitely. yobs today think they are untouchable.
They start their criminal activities very young, and while under the age of criminal responsibility, the never get punished. If you are old enough to do a crime, you are old enough to know what you are doing. Ther should always be a deterrent to stop these yobs at the earliest opportunity, no matter what their age, and there is always a suitable punishment whatever the crime and age of the perpetrator.

Answer 5

It depends as a 11 year old I took a train ride without a ticket had a fine and now have a criminal record for life.Do I deserve to be punished for life for losing my return ticket in the first place a kid in the city wanting to get home..I don't think so...A family member of mine stole some jeans and got a life sentance he lives in CA third strike.
But so harsh and unfare and this is why the prisons in the US are so over crowded.

Answer 6

The problem is that too much is illegal. It is supposed to be a free country. Thats why it was started. Yet we actually have as many people in prison as Stalin did--2.4 million, and half of them never harmed another person. We have prison guards unions lobbying for more and harsher laws, we have private prison companies lobbying for even more and even harsher laws. Does it cut crime? No. The drug laws cause crime, they drive up the price of drugs thru the law of supply and demand, bringing violence and crime. It is bankrupting our economy, it accomplishes nothing. There should be a general rule that for a person to be guilty of a crime he or she must have actually harmed someone--to have harmed them physicaly, or to have stolen from them, but these attitude crimes ("crimes") must stop.

Answer 7

Yes we are far to soft. They should live on bread and water and only be allowed out of their cells for one hour a day. No phone calls, no gym, not anything in fact. They should have one to a cell only 6 X 6. No privileges at all.

That does not mean that staff have the right to abuse them.

They should be jailed themselves.

They deserve all they get legally. You forgot to add what you were getting at.

Answer 8

Way too soft. And there's no consistency either.

Kill a child through reckless driving, 6 weeks inside. Nick a bottle of whisky from a supermarket, 6 months.

Bonkers.

Answer 9

Put maguey worms in their ears, tear their fingernails out, amputate at least three limbs, flog them, incarcerate them for a thousand years then immolate them. Finally, beat them with wet lettuce leaves.

Answer 10

Absolutely agree! Except for Labour Ministers of course.

...And fair ladies of the Minger dynasty!