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do you think stricter penalties would lead to more serious crime?
by BUBBLES no wonderPublished Aug. 23, 2008
A recent blog and a response got me to thinking about this.
LINK: man, 62, engaged in child prostitution, police say
Do you think if the laws were stricter for sexual offenses it would lead the suspect to murder?
My personal opinion is NO. I think they think they will not get caught anyway, so they will not kill just because they may get caught. I think IF they kill, it is purely because they wanted to. Plain and simple.
YOUR THOUGHTS?
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Because...they are doing something. They ARE killing bad guys. Why do you put "bad guys" in quotes, to imply that they are not bad at all? For the sake of argument, assume that they are, truly, bad guys. Now explain your opposition to the death penalty in that case.
GOLO member since July 5, 2007
September 4, 2008 10:20 p.m.
Don't tell the politicians that. Killing off "bad guys" is *great* for buying votes and looking like you're actually doing something other than spending tax revenues.
The point is that the death penalty is perhaps THE ultimate punishment for a crime. The original post is asking about stricter penalties leading to more serious crime, and I felt that it was relevant to point out the deterrence factor under which stricter penalties are sold to the public; the fact that capital punishment fails to have any deterrence whatsoever on murders is proof that the harshness of the penalty doesn't necessarily change the rate of offense for the better. Now, to answer the main question, YES, stricter penalties for sex offenses can lead to murders of victims. One way to lower the chances of getting caught is to kill the victim. If you were an attacker and sexually assaulted someone, and after the act mulled over the potential penalties, what would you do?
August 28, 2008 11:49 p.m.
GOLO member since July 5, 2007
August 28, 2008 2:39 p.m.
GOLO member since July 5, 2007
August 28, 2008 2:29 p.m.
Texas has killed more people on death row than any other state.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/execution/readings/texas.html
Yet somehow they still have the highest homicide conviction rate in the nation.
This study says it all:
http://www.iserp.columbia.edu/news/articles/capital_punishment.html
"...we found no evidence of a deterrent effect of capital punishment on the rates of capital-eligible homicides. To the contrary, our models found that the market share of homicides that are capital-eligible grows over time, even as the risk of execution increases. We conclude that despite the recent drop in homicides as a whole, the threat of execution has had no deterrent effect on the very cases it was designed to prevent and that there has been no evidence of any differences between death penalty states and those that have rejected capital punishment."
August 27, 2008 9:04 p.m.
I fail to see the logic. It proves no such thing.
GOLO member since July 5, 2007
August 25, 2008 3:59 p.m.
She classified murders into three categories: passion, compulsion, and calculation. The passionate killer isn't thinking about penalties; it was a "heat of the moment" killing (wife and best friend in your bed). Calculating killers assume they'll never be caught. Compulsive killers (i.e. serial killers) do it because they feel compelled to do so internally. That's why worse penalties don't deter criminal actions!
August 25, 2008 1:32 p.m.
GOLO member since July 5, 2007
August 23, 2008 5:34 p.m.
GOLO member since July 28, 2007
August 23, 2008 5:03 p.m.
In the case of child rape that is true, but a person that molests/takes the innocence of a child is a very sick person. Someone that rapes and adult woman(or man) is very different and falls into a different category than this. In that case(mostly) it is about power and control.
I do not think in the case of rape or molestation of a child, lets say under 12-13 that a heavier sentence is going to be an effective deterrent. These people are sick and need help but how do you identify them before the damage to a child is done? A heavier sentence will only keep them out of circulation longer. The heavier sentence and/or mental institution will prevent more victims by the same perpetrator.
GOLO member since July 15, 2007
August 23, 2008 4:33 p.m.
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