Got to agree...

[IBM]

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/enter...nt/6043356.stm

I met her once, seemed like a really nice, grounded individual.

Is it just me, or do people think that jail for peodophiles should involve things like burning with hot irons, getting beat up daily, and only having bread and water to eat.

I know the government will say that it's about rehabilitation, but surely it's about punishment as well. Okay, so have your daily sessions with a quack, and try to resolve your issues, but also break rocks for the rest of the day to teach you that what you did is wrong. These people are going to get out, and once they get over the whole 'loss of freedom' thing, they're going to start thinking 'well, it wasn't that bad' and commit the same crime again...

[kalniel]

*nods* Justice should be both punishment (something to make other people think twice before commiting a crime in the first place) and rehabilitation (to correct the faults in people that make them want to commit crimes). (And thirdly to keep criminals from being able to commit crimes until they are rehabilitated).

I don't have much experience of criminals, but from what little I have, I'd say punishment is mainly good against opportunistic crime, and even then there's usually something wrong with the criminals. They just don't think like we do, and applying arguements that seem logical to us (ie they won't do it if there's a stiffer punishment) doesn't always work.

I think the fear with going too heavy on the punishment side and not providing enough rehabilitation is that you entrench a criminal's own distorted way of thinking, and so they will never change that way of thought, meaning you either keep them locked up for ever or you release them to re-offend.

[kasavien]

Kalniel said prety much what i feel on this subject, prisoners certainly shouldn't have access to tv. Books and music is all i'd give them, it should probably more akin to a monastery than a hotel.

[Clunk]

Chemical castration and a crap life in a tough prison with no segregation, that ought to do it.

[dangel]

Bring back guillotines in market squares - place tackle in said device, job done.

[capt_cornflake]

These people are going to get out, and once they get over the whole 'loss of freedom' thing, they're going to start thinking 'well, it wasn't that bad' and commit the same crime again...

But if this happens, then the rehabilitaion has failed hasn't it?
Rehabilitation is about making the person fit to return to society, however this is achieved (and probably should involve a mixture of carrot and stick).

How the conditions described in the article will acheive this though is beyond me...

[kickstart 1]

What wasnt mentioned in that article was that Wymott prison is also an "open "prison , i live nearby .It also has a nice farm section (and stables although no longer used) a nice veg garden too,quite like a country hotel ,the only difference is the high fence round it .But the point being ,what are peodophiles doing in an open prison ? Surely for crimes like that its not a good idea ?

[Soneji]

Shoot them tbh. If someone done that to my sister I'd kill them.

Stuff letting them out to do it again.

[TeePee]

Shoot them tbh. If someone done that to my sister I'd kill them.

Where's Nietzsche when you need him...

With all the threads condemning modern society as well...

[chuckskull]

Prison is far too easy. Pool tables, digital TV. Man I dont even have digital TV. Moreover neither does my local hospital(or any I've been in). Perhaps we need to get out priorities right.

Prison doesn't frighten people anymore, not much detterance in, 4 square meals a day, a comfy bed and all the mod cons.

[ponders]

Anyone seen the 'The Running Man' ?

I'd watch.

[Nick]

The problem, as I see it, is that you can't 'rehabilitate' a paedophile... how can you change how someone feels?

Perhpas to make my point clearer, let's take homosexuality. We used to jail people for that too. Sure, it was a while ago, but did jailing someone stop them having a sexual attraction to members of the same sex?

Now of course we have rehabilitation programs, which we didn't have when homosexuality was a criminal offence, but it's now recognised that your sexuality is not something you have any control over, it's just how you are... heterosexual, homosexual, bi-sexual... you can't help it and have no control over it.

How on earth the powers that be think they'll be able to stop someone being a paedophile is beyond me.

Sure, they could give them counselling and make them see that it's unlawful, but that's not going to stop a paedophile finding children sexually attractive.

It's not a case of all paedophiles being psychotic and having no notion of what they're doing as being wrong, many paedophiles know that what they do is utterly despicable and illegal, the problem is, they can't control themselves... just as much as anyone can't choose their own sexuality.

Now, as much as this sounds sympathetic towards paedophiles, it's not. Don't get me wrong, I still think that paedophiles are utter scum.

My point is, I fail to see how rehabilitation is ever going to do anything to stop convicted paedophiles re-offending in some way or other.

My personal opinion is that any convicted paedophile should be electronically tagged for life and any breaches of the rules of taggin should result in ever more severe sentencing, with physical castration being the ultimate punishment.

The problem is, how does the punishment of these revolting people fit in with what is supposed to be a humane, civilized society?

[FirePhoenixCtk]

Prisoners have too much "humans rights" Thats what causes alll this splendid treatment. Our government tries to balance everything out yet it f*cks it all up.
Now ipaedophiles shouldn't have these rights after what they've done to those children, what about those childrens rights?
I totally agree with all the hostility going towards paedophile's.

[Alex]

Nick has pretty much summed up how I feel about the situation as well. I'd go as far as to say that I feel sorry for a lot of them. Sure, there are some really evil ones out there who hunt, prime, and rape children, but equally there are probably a lot of other people who really struggle with the issue - imagine how you would feel if you found yourself having those sort of feelings!

Added to which, how many people who say prison is easy have ever been to prison? I haven't but I'm guessing even with cable TV it's not a bundle of laughs - added to which they have a criminal record listing them as a paedophile - imagine trying to get a job with that on your record when you get out! As well as being viewed as the scum of society.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think its ever OK to have sex with children (though how many of you lost your virginity before 16?), and I don't think prison should at all be paying for digital TV and services above those in hospital, but I think that saying they have it easy is not entirely true.

And how can you have too many 'human rights'? If you are a human, you deserve human rights. Thats the half point of human rights - its obvious that the upstanding members of society have certain rights, but we shouldnt go round chopping the balls of paedophiles - two wrongs don't make a right, as the saying goes, and all humans deserve human rights. It's all in the name.

I'm not condoning paedophilia in any way, but seriously, bring back the guillotine? Steady on guys.

[badass]

The problem, as I see it, is that you can't 'rehabilitate' a paedophile... how can you change how someone feels?

Perhpas to make my point clearer, let's take homosexuality. We used to jail people for that too. Sure, it was a while ago, but did jailing someone stop them having a sexual attraction to members of the same sex?

Now of course we have rehabilitation programs, which we didn't have when homosexuality was a criminal offence, but it's now recognised that your sexuality is not something you have any control over, it's just how you are... heterosexual, homosexual, bi-sexual... you can't help it and have no control over it.

How on earth the powers that be think they'll be able to stop someone being a paedophile is beyond me.

Sure, they could give them counselling and make them see that it's unlawful, but that's not going to stop a paedophile finding children sexually attractive.

It's not a case of all paedophiles being psychotic and having no notion of what they're doing as being wrong, many paedophiles know that what they do is utterly despicable and illegal, the problem is, they can't control themselves... just as much as anyone can't choose their own sexuality.

Now, as much as this sounds sympathetic towards paedophiles, it's not. Don't get me wrong, I still think that paedophiles are utter scum.

My point is, I fail to see how rehabilitation is ever going to do anything to stop convicted paedophiles re-offending in some way or other.

My personal opinion is that any convicted paedophile should be electronically tagged for life and any breaches of the rules of taggin should result in ever more severe sentencing, with physical castration being the ultimate punishment.

The problem is, how does the punishment of these revolting people fit in with what is supposed to be a humane, civilized society?

There is a school thought that thinks there are faaaaaaaaaaaaaar more paedophiles than any study will reveal - the ones that have these attractions and simply do not act upon them as they are moral people and will not make others suffer for their perversions. These people may have sick thoughts but are harmless and should be left alone.

However I'm all for a 3 strikes and you get your balls chopped off law, 4 and its a life jail sentence with no balls
The public simply shouldn;t be put at risk with someone thats committes an offence like that so many times. Sod the convicted multiple offending criminals rights.

[Bazzlad]

You'll find mate, that we live in a Democracy.
Over 50% of the UK want capital punishment back (ANYONE find a statistic to counter that?) meaning that YOU'RE in the minority.
I personally agree with severe murder cases, and severe peadophilia (of course only when 100% proven beyond doubt) leathally inject them.
Any doubt, incarcerate them, camp x-ray style.

Why waste my tax dollars?

I guarantee that crime figures would tumble.
Rehabilitation simply does not work, it’s been tried and has failed repeatedly.
We know, per person have more violent crime than the US.

Go figure.