The internet is filled with things. Here is one of them.
Nobody knows what the criminal system's purpose is2024 Dec 3
Prior to Running Commentary, I bookmarked this Hacker News comment by leobg reacting in 2022 to the criminal sentencing of that Theranos con-women Elizabeth Holmes, and am only now sharing it here:
The criminal system’s purpose is not just prevention.
Actually, nobody is really sure what its purpose is.
Why do parents, when they get really angry, sometimes hit a child? Psychology has proven that doing so is a really terrible way of preventing further infractions. So the impulse to punish is not necessarily rational.
A whole religion has been built on the idea of consciously letting go of the urge to judge and punish - and it hasn’t worked out for 2000 years.
So one reason why the government punishes criminals is to take the wind out of the sails of all the private parties that otherwise would cry for punishment of that person, or take it into that own hands. In that sense, it is essentially a power move by the state in order to remain in control and “keep the peace”.
Prior to Running Commentary, I bookmarked this Hacker News comment by leobg reacting in 2022 to the criminal sentencing of that Theranos con-women Elizabeth Holmes, and am only now sharing it here: